Crocker children murders
Elwyn Crocker Jr. and Mary Crocker | |
|---|---|
| Cause of death | Murder |
| Body discovered | Guyton, Effingham County, Georgia |
| Nationality | American |
| Father | Elwyn Crocker Sr. |
Elwyn Crocker Jr. and Mary Crocker were two American children whose remains were discovered buried in their family's backyard in Effingham County, Georgia in December 2018.[1]
Victims
[edit]Elwyn Crocker Jr., age 14, disappeared in November 2016.[2] He was the older brother of Mary Crocker, who disappeared two years later, at age 13, in October 2018. Sometime before, the children's father, 49-year-old Elwyn Crocker Sr., and his wife (and the children's stepmother), 33-year-old Candice Crocker, had withdrawn each child from classes at South Effingham Middle School; they informed school officials that both siblings would be homeschooled.[3] Six years earlier, in 2012, Elwyn Crocker Sr. and his wife had received counseling from Effingham County's Department of Family and Children Services following reports that they were abusing Elwyn Crocker Jr. Both adults agreed to undergo therapy and take classes in parenting, and the department closed the case in 2013.[4] However, neither child was ever reported to be missing, and their disappearances were only discovered after the local police department received a tip from a family relative who believed that Mary Crocker was deceased. After police officers interviewed the children's father, they decided to search the grounds of the family's residence in Guyton, Georgia.
Human remains were discovered on the property on December 20, 2018, Mary Crocker's 14th birthday, and the Effingham County coroner noted that Elwyn Crocker Jr. would have been 17 years old.[5] The cause of death had not been determined for either child as of December 26.[6]
Suspects
[edit]Elwyn Crocker Sr. and Candice Crocker were arrested. Elwyn Sr. had recently worked in Rincon, Georgia, as a Santa for Walmart. Also arrested were three other adults who lived in the home: Candice Crocker's mother, Kim Wright, age 50; Wright's male companion, Anthony Prater, 55 years old; and Mark Anthony Wright, the brother of Candice Crocker. All five adults were charged with concealing a death as well as child cruelty.[3].[7]
At the time of the arrests, a third child who lived in the home was taken into the care of Effingham County social services.[5]
Subsequent developments
[edit]Anthony Prater pleaded guilty to murder in February 2020, and will not face the death penalty. In late October of that year, the children's stepmother, Candice Crocker, pleaded guilty to murder, torture, and keeping both Elwyn Jr. and Mary in dog crates. She agreed to testify against her husband, mother, and brother to escape the death penalty. The trials of the three remaining defendants have not yet been formally scheduled by the court.[8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Hall, Ellie (December 26, 2018). "The Bodies Of Two Missing Children Were Found Buried In Their Father's Backyard". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2018-12-26.
- ^ Adams, Char (December 26, 2018). "Walmart Santa Arrested After His 2 Kids Are Found Buried in Family's Yard: 'It's Horrible'". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2018-12-26.
- ^ a b Lapin, Tamar (2018-12-26). "Walmart Santa Elwyn Crocker charged after kids are found in his yard". New York Post. Retrieved 2018-12-26.
- ^ Cawthon, Graham (2022-12-09). "Crocker Timeline: Family members could be put to death for murders, burial of Effingham County kids". WJCL-TV. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ a b Fieldstadt, Elisha (December 26, 2018). "Two children's bodies found buried on grounds of Georgia home, four arrested". NBC News. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
- ^ Martinez, Gina (December 25, 2018). "2 Children Found Buried 2 Years Apart in a Yard. Their Father, a Walmart Santa, Has Been Arrested". Time. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
- ^ Cawthon, Graham (2022-12-09). "Crocker Timeline: Family members could be put to death for murders, burial of Effingham County kids". WJCL-TV. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ "Stepmon Pleads Guilty after Teen Stepchildren She'd Locked in Crates Are Found Buried in Yard". People Magazine. Retrieved December 10, 2024.