Elwyn John Crocker Sr. entered a guilty plea Monday in exchange for a sentence that takes death penalty off the table for the murder of his two children. Crocker appeared in court in Effingham County with his attorneys in the courtroom of Judge Matthew Hube.
Case Background
December 20, 2018 – Deputies with the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office visited 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 discovered 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.
In 2019, all five parties were indicted on a host of offenses, including Malice Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Sexual Battery, Cruelty to Children, Concealing the Death of Another, and False Imprisonment. Prosecutors announced the intent to seek the death penalty for four of the five defendants.
In October 2020, stepmother Candace Crocker entered a guilty plea in exchange for a sentence of Life in prison without the possibility of parole. Roy Prater also entered a guilty plea, though he was not facing the death penalty. Those pleas both came under the previous district attorney, Daphne Totten.
Under the current administration of District Attorney Robert Busbee, Mark Wright entered a guilty plea in August 2025 and received a sentence of 80 years, the maximum allowable under the law. Kimberly Wright followed shortly thereafter in September 2025. They were both facing the death penalty as well.
Plagued by Delays
Historically, death penalty cases can take anywhere from five to ten years to make it trial. The Crocker case is no different. Since the case was indicted in Effingham County, three superior court judges have presided over the case, three elected district attorneys have held office, and the case was more recently assigned to its fourth assistant district attorney following the March departure of Matt Breedon, who left the DA’s office to go to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Elwyn Crocker Sr. was first represented by Steven Yekel but the capital defender’s office was later appointed to the case after the notice of intent to seek the death penalty. The lead counsel has has been Jerilyn Bell since the appointment, but the required second chair has changed three times.
In addition to the plethora of motions that accompany a death penalty case, which can often take eighteen months to two years to sort out when other delays do not arise, the case has seen requests for recusals of a judge, motions for a change of venue, and, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic.
In October 2023, an administrative judge appointed a new judge to preside over the case after an employee from the district attorney’s office engaged in ex parte communication with the judge. Defense attorneys argued that prosecutors unlawfully obtained medical records.
In July 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 included some twenty days in court before Judge Hube for motions hearings and depositions.
Monday’s Hearing
Effingham County Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie, his chief deputy, and a number of investigators from the sheriff’s office were present in court for Monday’s proceedings.
The hearing was scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. but attorneys immediately requested a brief fifteen minute recess. Following the recess, Jerilyn Bell of the Capital Defender’s Office requested another recess of thirty minutes, which was granted.
At 9:50 a.m., defense counsel returned to the courtroom to announce that they were continuing to work to make progress with Crocker, noting that she believed they “were making headway,” were aware of the time constraints of the court, and were working as diligently as possible.
A few minutes later, Crocker entered the courtroom and continued completing paperwork with his attorneys.
Busbee announced that the state and defense reached an agreement for Crocker to enter a guilty plea.
Busbee said the state had agreed to a plea for a number of reasons, but prefaced that the plea offer does not “reflect any suggestion or intent by the state that the defendant deserves mercy or leniency of any kind.”
“There’s no punishment available that would reflect justice for these children. This reflects the reality that this case has lingered without resolution,” Busbee said. He then outlined a few changes in the case:
- Kimberly Wright – has gone blind during the time in custody and is unable to authenticate evidence
- Roy Prater – recently died in custody died. He flipped early on in the case and offered a plethora of testimony for investigators, but none of the evidence he provided the state can be used in trial.
- Trial Team – Two assistant district attorneys recently left the cas – one to retirement and one to U.S Attorney’s Office. Busbee said that did not cost the state evidence, but it does contribute to a delay.
Busbee said the decision was one where he was required to decide if they risk losing more evidence or offer Life without the possibility of parole and move forward in resolving the case.
Busbee offered the following sentencing recommendations:
- Malice Murder – guilty – Life without parole
- Malice Murder – guilty – Life without parole
- Felony Murder x 2- dismissed due to guilty plea in first and second cases. This is a requirement by law because a person can only be convicted of murder ‘one time’ for each person.
- Aggravated Sexual Battery – guilty – Life with parole
- Cruelty to Children (1st degree) – (4 counts) – guilty – 20 years to serve for each count
- Concealing the Death of Another (2 counts) – 10 years to serve for each count
- False Imprisonment (2 counts) – 10 years to serve for each count.
Each of the sentences would run consecutively to one another, for a total of two Life sentences without parole, one Life sentence with parole, and 120 additional years after those Life sentences. This is the maximum sentence under the law once the death penalty was taken off the table.
Crocker then rose to address the court and formally entered a guilty plea into the record. Judge Hube sentenced Crocker as recommended by the district attorney’s office.
The District Attorney’s Office is expected to hold a press conference Monday morning following hearing. Check back to TheGeorgiaVirtue for additional coverages.
