Elwyn Crocker Sr.’s attorneys respond to motion on DNA evidence

EFFINGHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - Lawyers for Elwyn Crocker Sr. are fighting back after the State asked the court to reconsider an order that forced them to hand over full DNA evidence in the ongoing murder case.

In a motion filed Monday, Crocker’s defense team argued that the State—and the FBI lab it used—still hasn’t provided all the data they were supposed to.

The issue centers around DNA testing done using STRmix, which tries to figure out whose DNA is in complex mixtures from crime scenes.

According to the defense, the results from the FBI lab don’t make sense. The lab said Crocker was excluded from seven DNA items, but also said he might be included in two others.

According to this filing from Crocker’s lawyers, the FBI admitted that certain people, including Crocker and his family members, couldn’t all be contributors together—yet still reported individual matches for those same people.

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

The defense says this makes it even more important to get all the underlying data, including the exact files STRmix used and the settings it ran on.

So far, the FBI has only turned over some raw files from before STRmix was used, but not the full results or data from the program itself. The defense argues they can’t properly evaluate or challenge the DNA results without that information.

One of the documents the FBI did turn over even admits that STRmix can make mistakes when trying to separate out DNA from close family members, like parents and siblings. That’s a big concern in this case because many of the possible DNA contributors are related.

Crocker’s lawyers say this is why they need the full validation data—the information showing how accurate the software is, especially in cases involving relatives. Without it, they say the science behind the evidence can’t be trusted.

The defense is asking the court to stick with its original order and not let the State avoid turning over the rest of the required DNA materials.

Tuesday, the two children’s step-uncle, Mark Wright, was in court going over 130 different motions filed by his attorneys. That coverage will air Tuesday night at 5 & 6 p.m.