Amish Mom Who Allegedly Drowned Son Thought She'd Be Swallowed by Fish — as Lawyer Reveals Defense By Chris Spargo

The Amish mother who allegedly drowned her 4-year-old son in an Ohio lake and then drove a golf cart with her three teenage children into the same lake in hopes of killing her family is in custody after being discharged from a hospital where she received mental health treatment.

Ruth Miller, 40, is charged with two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of domestic violence and one count of child endangerment after an incident that occurred at Atwood Lake on Aug. 23.

The mother of four allegedly confessed to purposely drowning her 4-year-old son Vincen Miller and attempting to drown her three older children — a 15-year-old girl and 18-year-old twin boys — after speaking with God.

Sheriff Orvis Campbell of the Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office said at a news conference that Miller told responding officers she did this because God told her “to allow herself to be swallowed by a fish to prove her worthiness.”

Campbell said that Miller, whose trip to the lake coincided with her birthday, appeared to be suffering from “spiritual delusion.”

Miller is scheduled to appear in court on Friday, Sept. 5, but a source close to the investigation tells PEOPLE that appearance will likely be pushed back as a grand jury is expected to return a formal indictment later today, Sept. 4.

“It is immediately apparent that Ruth, at the time of the tragic incident, suffered from a severe mental ailment that unequivocally prevented her from appreciating the wrongfulness of her conduct,” Miller’s attorney Ian N. Friedman tells PEOPLE.

He went on to say: “I expect that this case will center around whether Ruth should be found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity. We are confident that she will be.”

Miller allegedly told deputies that she and her husband were staying at Lake Atwood with their children when the couple decided to walk to the lake shortly after midnight in order to perform a number of tasks that she claimed were told to her by God.

After performing these tasks, Miller said that she and her husband Marcus, 45, returned to their campsite.

However, upon arriving back at the campsite, Miller said that Marcus expressed regret about his performance and told her he would be returning to the lake to prove his faith.

He then went to the lake alone and attempted to swim out to a sandbar, said Campbell, where he accidentally drowned in the process.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

When Marcus failed to return, Miller drove her 4-year-old son to the lake at around 6:30 a.m. and threw the boy in the water, telling deputies she left him to drown in order “to give him to God.”

She then drove back to bring her daughter, and after that twin sons to the lake, where she ordered them all to perform tasks to show their worthiness to God, said Campbell.

Families vacationing at the lake did not take notice of Miller’s actions, however, until they saw her and the three older children huddled together and crying. They then watched as she piled the children into a golf cart and drove at a high rate of speed into a stone wall and then into the lake.

The three children climbed on top of the cart and got out of the water, but Miller refused help and insisted she be left in the lake, per witness accounts.

Once deputies arrived, Miller tried to run and hide in some nearby bushes before being tracked down, at which time she spoke about her conversations with God.

She also said she could walk on water, and then fell into the lake, according to Campbell.

Miller was hospitalized that same day while her three surviving children were sent to live with relatives.

The bodies of her son and husband were found at the bottom of the lake after a difficult search that lasted close to 24 hours, Campbell said.

Miller was released from the hospital on Sept. 1 and booked into Tuscarawas County Jail.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.