Crocker Case: Kim Wright enters guilty plea, sentenced to life without possibility of parole

EFFINGHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - The Ogeechee Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office shared a major update in the Crocker Case.

Tuesday, District Attorney Robert Busbee announced that Kim Wright entered a negotiated guilty plea Tuesday morning involving the deaths of Elwyn Crocker Jr. and Mary Crocker.

Kimberly Wright‘s attorney told us future testimony is a requirement of Wright‘s plea agreement.

Elwyn Jr. and Mary are her two step-grandchildren, whose bodies were discovered buried in the family’s backyard in 2018.

Investigators say Elwyn Jr. and Mary were 14 when they each were killed.

Elwyn was last seen in November 2016, and Mary in 2018.

These children were reportedly home-schooled and never reported missing.

Investigators previously testified that Mary and Elwyn Jr. were both starved, beaten, and kept in a dog cage.

Family members originally told investigators that Mary was punished for not exercising, skipping chores, or stealing food. According to authorities, Elwyn Jr. was also abused and starved before he died.

Below is an interactive map showing how the victims and defendants are connected, as well as the charges the defendants face:

The DA’s office announced 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 the Death of Another
• Count 11: Concealing the Death of Another
• Count 12: False Imprisonment
• Count 13: False Imprisonment

Wright is one of the five defendants charged in connection with the deaths of Elwyn Crocker Jr. and Mary Crocker.

The other three defendants, Candice Crocker, Mark Wright, and Roy Prater, have already entered guilty pleas. Mark Wright and Roy Prater are set to be sentenced at a later date.

The DA’s office said the case against Elwyn Crocker Sr. is still moving through the judicial system.

They say the State will not extend a plea offer, and add that the death penalty will remain on the table.

Kim Wright is set to serve a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

See full press release below:

Click here for the years-long coverage of the Crocker Case.

The district attorney’s office says this plea continues to move the case forward... Saying these investigators, along with the community, have been waiting for justice in this case for around 7 years now.

Officials with the Georgia Division of Children and Family Services say they lost track of the Crocker children after they were pulled out of the school system by their parents.

Their case led to the “Crocker Law,” which adds state oversight when children are removed from school. Now, if a student doesn’t re-enroll within 45 days, child welfare officials must be notified.

The children’s uncle will be sentenced on October 16th. Their step-grandfather’s sentencing is still TBD. As for their father’s case, he’s due back in court on October 14th.