EFFINGHAM COUNTY, Ga. — The final family member of Elwyn Crocker Jr. and Mary Crocker, two children found buried in shallow graves, pleaded guilty to murder and other charges on Monday.
The children’s father, Elwyn Crocker Sr., was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
“Ultimately, this decision was based in large part on the age of the case,” Ogeechee Judicial Circuit District Attorney Robert Busbee said during a news conference on Monday. “December will be eight years since the bodies were discovered. Elwin Crocker Jr was killed 10 years ago.”
Sheriff’s deputies discovered the bodies of Mary and Elwyn Crocker Jr. in December 2018 on their family’s property in Guyton. Authorities say both were 14 when they died roughly two years apart.
The children were homeschooled and never reported missing.
Investigators previously said that Mary was starved, beaten, and kept in a dog cage, and her brother faced similar abuse.
Police were summoned multiple times, responding to fights between the adults around them. Child welfare agencies in South Carolina and Georgia investigated.
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Reports from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution stated Elwyn Jr. was last seen in November 2016 when he was 14, Effingham County Sheriff’s deputies said. Mary was last seen in October 2018 at age 14.
Kimberly Wright, the children’s step-grandmother, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole
Three others who were charged in the case have also pleaded guilty: Candice Crocker, Mark Wright, and Roy Prater.
When asked if he thought the plea deal was justice, Busbee said no.
“This is certainly not justice. And frankly, based on the facts in this case, the death penalty would not have been justice. What these children went through, there is no punishment available under the law that would be justice in this case,” he said.
Busbee said that despite the case being over, he wanted more for the young victims in this case.
“It is a relief that it’s over, but it certainly has mixed feelings. I was very driven to get the maximum sentence in this case, and it was disappointing that it ended up being life instead.”
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