Attorney asks Judge to throw out malice murder charge for Crocker children’s uncle; Motion hearings continue in 2018 case

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) -After years of delays, a judge is pressing for movement in the case against Mark Wright, one of the people accused in the deaths of two Effingham County children found buried in their family’s backyard in 2018, Mary and Elwyn Crocker Jr.

Wright’s attorneys returned to court Tuesday to argue on motions in Wright’s case. He is the step-uncle of Elwyn Crocker Jr. and Mary Crocker.

Wright faces eight counts in total, including malice murder and felony murder in Mary’s death, one count of sexual battery, two counts of cruelty to children, two counts of concealing a death, and one count of false imprisonment. He is only charged with concealing Elwyn Crocker’s death.

Wright has pleaded not guilty and is facing the death penalty.

Tuesday, the judge began addressing 130 separate motions filed by Wright’s defense team. The motions ranged from requests to suppress certain evidence, requests for disclosure items, and procedural matters ahead of trial.

Among the requests made by the defense were daily trial transcripts and video copies for Wright, a transcript of the grand jury’s indictment discussion, and documents detailing any negotiations other defendants may have had regarding testimony against Wright.

The defense also referenced a 13-hour recorded interview with Candace Crocker, the children’s stepmother, and an eight-hour interview with Roy Prater, the children’s step-grandfather.

Defense attorneys also asked to review trial security procedures in advance, to preserve all evidence, along with requesting the social security numbers and criminal histories of any state witnesses.

The prosecution objected to many of the motions, though noted that some requests had already been addressed.

Wright’s attorney asked the court for leniency and indicated that even more motions would be filed, beyond the 130 already submitted.

The judge made it clear that continued delays would not be tolerated.

“We can’t keep pushing this case back. I know how old this case is. It’s going to be heard and tried, and pushed to a resolution,” Judge Hube said.

An October deadline could potentially be set for all motions to be filed, but the judge expected to issue a formal order outlining the specific date.

The most significant motion discussed in court on Tuesday came from the defense, which asked the judge to dismiss the malice murder charge against Wright.

“The fact is that there’s nothing there that connects this particular client to any action that first of all, indicates malice. You have to have the intent to kill—there has to be evidence of intent to kill for it to be malice murder,” said Allan Sincox, one of the defense attorneys for Wright.

Prosecutor Matthew Breedon responded saying, “Prosecution is not required to elect between theories of felony murder and malice murder, that’s been the law for 20–30 years.”

The judge did not rule on any motions during Tuesday’s hearing. More motions are set to be discussed on Thursday and Friday in Wright’s case.