The Murders of Mary & Elwyn Crocker Jr.

The bodies of 14-year-old Mary Crocker and 16-year-old Elwyn Crocker Jr. were found buried in the backyard at the family’s mobile home in Savannah, Georgia in December 2018. Mary would have turned 14-years-old the day her body was found.

Police responded to the mobile home regarding a welfare check concerning Mary. A family member called the police after hearing that Mary had been murdered. Sadly, the rumor was true.

No one ever reported the kids missing. Since they were homeschooled, authorities never had a reason for concern. However, the Crockett’s were involved with the Department of Family and Children Services back in 2012. That case was closed in 2013.

Police estimate that Mary died sometime around Oct. 26, 2018. Police say Jr. likely died two years before Mary in 2016 when he was 14-years-old.

Both bodies were battered and bruised, indicating they both were tortured before their deaths. Five people, including the children’s stepmother, father, and grandmother, were charged with the deaths.

Charged in the Teen’s Murders

Charged were 50-year-old Elwyn Crocker Sr.; 33-year-old Candice Crocker the stepmother; 31-year-old Mark Wright, Candice’s brother; 50-year-old Kimberly Wright; and 55-year-old Roy Anthony Prater, Kimberly’s boyfriend.

A Life Filled With Horror

Police made many discoveries as they searched the home. Most disturbing was a photograph found on Elwyn Sr.’s phone showing Mary, naked and emaciated, standing in front of a dog case kept inside the kitchen in the mobile home. Mary appeared fragile and near death in the photo.

Mary Crockett spent nearly 24-hours per day confined to a dog cage too small for her to fit inside. Bound with zip ties so she could not escape, Mary dealt with excruciating pain as her joints had swollen so severely, she could not straighten them out. She was duct taped to a ladder to try to straighten her legs back out.

Her parents, grandmother, and other siblings beat her with household objects, Tasered her, fed her foods spiked with liquids, and kept her naked day and night.

She was also starved. The family did not allow Mary to bathe but occasionally fragged her into the bathroom to spray her down with a water hose.

Authorities say that Jr. was also abused before he was murdered. They suspect that he was kept inside the cage along with Mary.

Older Sibling Forced to Hit Teens With Frying Pan

Another child in the home, 11-year-old James Crocker, stricken with cerebral palsy, was forced by his grandmother to participate in the beating of mary. He told investigators that he was forced to hit her with a frying pan.

Case Aftermath

Roy Prather took a plea deal soon after his arrest. Faced with the death penalty, the stepmother Candace Crocker, also accepted a plea deal in 2020. She was given a life sentence.

The three other defendants still await trial. They each have pleaded not guilty, however, not each person is charged with the murders of both children.

The state seeks the death penalty against each of the defendants. COVID-19 restrictions and other setbacks have continually delayed the trials. A judge said the trials should begin in the first half of 2022.

My Thoughts

Cases like this upset me. Why any functioning adult would harm a child like this is beyond belief. Even sadder to me is that, unlike some kids who can at least tell teachers or friends or other family members, these kids had no one and could not escape. Terribly sad and tragic.

Here’s hoping each person receives the death penalty when they finally head to trial.

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