A fourth defendant has entered a guilty plea in the capital case against five individuals charged with the brutal murder of two children in Effingham County.
District Attorney Robert Busbee announced Tuesday that Kimberly Renee Wright entered a guilty plea before Judge Matt Hube. The guilty plea effectively takes the death penalty off the table for Wright as she now faces life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Kim Wright pled guilty to the following charges:
- Count 1: Malice Murder
- Count 2: Malice Murder
- Count 3: Felony Murder (Merged with Count 1)
- Count 4: Felony Murder (Merged with Count 2)
- Count 5: Aggravated Sexual Battery
- Count 6-9: Cruelty to Children in the First Degree
- Count 10: Concealing Death of Another
- Count 11: Concealing Death of Another
- Count 12: False Imprisonment
- Count 13: False Imprisonment
Her plea follows her son’s guilty plea on August 29 of this year, her daughter, Candice Wright Crocker’s guilty plea in October 2020, and her boyfriend, Roy Anthony Prater, in 2019.
Elwyn Crocker Sr. is still facing the death penalty and his case is still moving towards a jury trial. The district attorney’s office said as plea is not on the table for Elwyn Crocker.
“Mary and Elwyn Jr. were children who deserved love, protection, and a chance to grow up. Instead, their lives were stolen by acts of cruelty and betrayal by the very people who should have protected them. Today’s plea continues to move us forward in a case that has tested the strength and patience of many from the investigators who uncovered the truth to the family and community who have waited for justice. There is still work to be done with the remaining defendants in this case, and our office will remain committed until all those responsible are held accountable.”
Background
December 20, 2018 – Deputies with the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office visit the Crocker home on Rose Bud Place in Guyton for a welfare check on a young girl. Ultimately, authorities find two teenage children – Elwyn John Crocker, Jr. and Mary Frances Crocker – buried in the backyard with a third found in the bathroom. Elwyn had been missing for more than two years and is believed to have died in 2016. Authorities discover the children were were kept in dog kennels, naked and deprived of nourishment and other basic care.
Elwyn Crocker Sr. was arrested along with four others – Candice Heather (Wright) Crocker, Roy Anthony Prater, Kimberly Renee Wright, and Mark Anthony Wright. The minor child was removed from the home and placed in the custody of DFCS.
December 21, 2018 – Judge Peed issues an order on the temporary placement of the minor child.
2019
March 18, 2019 – A grand jury returns a True Bill of Indictment for Elwyn Crocker Sr, Candice Crocker, and Kimberly Renee Wright on charges of Felony Murder (2 counts), Cruelty to Children – 1st degree (2 counts), and Concealing the Death of Another (2 counts). Mark Anthony Wright and Roy Anthony Prater are each indicted on one count of Felony Murder, one count of Cruelty to Children – 1st degree, and one count of Concealing the Death of Another. The indictment states the children were burned with hot water, shocked with a stun gun, and beaten, among other things.
October 24, 2019 – A special grand jury presentment results in the reindictment of Elwyn Crocker on 13 felony counts against Crocker, including 2 counts of Malice Murder, 2 counts of Felony Murder, 4 counts of Cruelty to Children in the 1st Degree, Aggravated Sexual Battery, 2 counts of False Imprisonment, and 2 counts of Concealing the Death of Another.
According to the indictment, on multiple occasions between Jan. 1, 2018, and Oct. 28, 2018, Mary Crocker was zip-tied, starved and held in a dog crate while naked, was beaten with different objects, burned with hot water, and shocked with a stun gun.
October 24, 2019 – Roy Anthony Prater enters a guilty plea on the Murder charge for causing the death of Mary Frances Crocker. His sentencing is delayed until the completion of all the other defendants resolve their cases and, as a condition of his plea agreement, Prater agrees to testify truthfully in other related trials. He also provides a written proffer to prosecutors, which is sealed until the conclusion of the other cases.
December 4, 2019 – The State announces intention to seek the death penalty for Elwyn Crocker, Candice Crocker, Kimberly Wright, and Mark Wright.
2020
February 21, 2020 – As part of the discovery process, the State announces its first witness list, which includes 72 names.
October 21, 2020 – Candice Crocker pleads guilty to avoid the death penalty. Specifically, she pleads guilty to two counts of Malice Murder, two counts of Cruelty to Children in the 2nd degree, two counts of False Imprisonment, and two counts of Concealing the Death of Another. As part of the plea, her sentence is two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
2021
March 1, 2021 – Defense attorneys for Elwyn Crocker Sr. file upwards of 40 pre-trial motions, as is standard in death penalty cases.
2022
May 17, 2022 – A judge denies a request by attorneys for Elwyn Crocker Sr to recuse Judge Peed from the case. Defense attorneys argued Peed should be removed from the criminal case because he also presided over the family court matter involving the surviving minor child in 2018 and early 2019. Those civil proceedings detailed allegations which would not be included in the criminal case, but the bell, defense attorneys said, could not be unrung.
August 4, 2022 – ADA Matt Breedon takes over prosecution of the case, replacing ADA Brian Deal who has worked the case since it began.
August 5, 2022 – Breedon files a Motion seeking to admit the
2023
October 2023 – Judge Gates Peed is recused from the case against Elwyn Crocker Sr. after a motion by defense attorneys in July of 2023 cited ex parte communications by District Attorney Daphne Totten’s office with Peed. Defense attorneys argued that prosecutors unlawfully obtained medical records.
2024
June 2024 – A civil suit is filed against Walmart, alleging that the Rincon store in Effingham County was made aware of the misdeeds and pedophilic tendencies of Elwyn Crocker Sr, but failed to take action. The suit, filed by the Administrator of the Estate of Mary Frances Crocker, states that Elwyn Crocker Sr. worked at the Walmart location as a maintenance man from 2015 to 2018, when he was arrested for murder. During that time, he also worked as the store Easter Bunny and Santa Claus.
July 8, 2024 – Prosecutors ask a judge to hold attorneys for the defendants in contempt of court for failing to provide all of the discovery by the August 2023 deadline. Defense attorneys countered the state’s argument and accused prosecutors of failing to provide all of the evidence as well, including “three critically important recordings.”
2025
January 1, 2025 – Newly elected District Attorney Robert Busbee is sworn in for the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit.
August 29, 2025 – Mark Wright pleads guilty in Effingham County Superior Court to charges of Malice Murder (2nd degree), Cruelty to Children -1st degree, Cruelty to Children – 2nd degree, two counts of Concealing the Death of Another, and False Imprisonment. His sentencing is deferred until October but he faces 10-80 years in prison.
