GA - Mary & Elwyn Crocker Jr, both 14, starved, beaten & buried, Effingham Cnty, 20 Dec 2018 Arrests

  • #241
So - @watcher9 - next hearing - from what I understand - will be 2/1/21 for Preliminary Motions hearing. or not?

TIA!
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Yes, that's the way I understand it - unless someone else takes a plea deal.
Here are some videos from the hearing.

Stepmother takes plea deal in case of Crocker teens found buried near home | WSAV-TV

Two suspects in Crocker case pleads guilty
 
  • #242
Well - the first article you posted @watcher9 - gives me this:

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But the 2nd link - I've taken some notes!

Thanks a bunch! and
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  • #243
Bumping this thread up.
 
  • #244
This one is truly heinous. I have nothing useful to add but I honestly hope they rot in jail, total devil spawn the lot of them.

Never, never, never let them free around anyone again!!

One of the most disturbing cases I've ever seen, and that's saying a lot.
 
  • #245
A search page showed crimeonline.com had an article? saying on Tuesday (six days ago), the trial date was set for 3-29. I clicked on it but got a bunch of unformatted words . Went to their website and could not find anything. That's why I had bumped up the thread. All my searches to verify have been in vain.

When I went to PeachCourt site, nothing was there.
I did notice that they prefer the cases to be referred to in this order.

SUCR2019000434 Elwyn Crocker
SUCR2019000435 Kimberly Wright
SUCR2019000436 Mark Wright

Effingham County apparently prefers the old way with a P on the end to signify Judge Peed.

2019-SU-CR-434-P Elwyn Crocker
2019-SU-CR-435-P Kimberly Wright
2019-SU-CR-436-P Mark Wright

So we wait some more...
 
  • #246
@watcher9 - here's what I have in my notes:


10/30/20 Update: Presiding Judge F. Gates Peed told each defendant separately the earliest trials could happen in Effingham County will be in January. Each set of attorneys defending Kim Wright, Mark Anthony Wright and Elwyn Crocker Sr., respectively, agreed in court February 1 of next year will be when a first round of preliminary motions will be filed. No word on when a trial date could be set. The public defenders are going through the discovery process. That means they are looking at evidence handed over by the state. The state is waiting on three more pieces of evidence undergoing DNA analysis right now.
 
  • #247
@watcher9 - here's what I have in my notes:


10/30/20 Update: Presiding Judge F. Gates Peed told each defendant separately the earliest trials could happen in Effingham County will be in January. Each set of attorneys defending Kim Wright, Mark Anthony Wright and Elwyn Crocker Sr., respectively, agreed in court February 1 of next year will be when a first round of preliminary motions will be filed. No word on when a trial date could be set. The public defenders are going through the discovery process. That means they are looking at evidence handed over by the state. The state is waiting on three more pieces of evidence undergoing DNA analysis right now.

Yes, thanks! That's what I remembered. That was why I was so surprised when I saw that on the search page. I knew that they had extended the COVID shutdown to Jan 8 and now to Feb 8 of this year. I did read that some of the smaller counties are being allowed to open if they are not having a COVID outbreak/problem.
 
  • #248
Monday, February 1st:
*Preliminary Motions hearing for all (@ am ET) - GA – Mary Frances Crocker (14) & Elwyn John Crocker, Jr. (‘JR’) (14) (Mary died Oct. 18, 2018, Elwyn died about Nov. 30, 2016 & both discovered Dec. 20, 2018 buried in backyard, Guyton) – *Elwyn John Crocker, Sr. (50/now 52) (“father”) arrested (12/20/18), charged (1/29/19), indicted (3/12/19) & arraigned (4/17/19) & re-arraigned (2/19/20) with 2 counts of malice murder, 2 counts of felony murder for the deaths of Elwyn, Jr. & Mary, 1 count of sexual battery, 4 counts of cruelty to children, 2 counts of false imprisonment & 2 counts of concealing a death. Plead not guilty (2/19/20). No bond. DA will seek DP.
3/5/19: Preliminary hearing. Case will now go to the Grand Jury. 3/12/19: Indicted for Mary’s & JR’s death. See below for rest of info.
*Kimberly Renee Wright (50/now 52) (“step-grandma”) arrested (12/20/18), charged (1/29/19), indicted (3/18/19) & arraigned (4/17/19) & re-arraigned (2/19/20) with 2 counts of malice murder, 2 counts of felony murder for the deaths of Elwyn, Jr. & Mary, 1 count of sexual battery, 4 counts of cruelty to children, 2 counts of false imprisonment & 2 counts of concealing a death. Plead not guilty (2/19/20). No bond. DA will seek DP.
10/3/19: Kim Wright filed in May for a change of venue for her trial. Court documents show Wright is requesting a location similar to Effingham County. The judge has not ruled on the request. See below for rest info.
*Mark Anthony “Tony” Wright (31/now 33) (bro of Candice) arrested (1/8/19), charged (1/29/19), indicted (3/12/19) & arraigned (4/17/19) & re-arraigned (2/19/20) with malice murder & felony murder in Mary’s death, 1 count of sexual battery, 2 counts of cruelty to children, 2 counts of concealing a death (Mary & Elwyn) & 1 count of false imprisonment. No bond. DA will seek DP.
Wright is brother of Elwyn Sr.'s wife, Candice & overheard a family discussion about Mary's death & called an aunt, who tipped off authorities. Judge F. Gates Peed has also imposed a gag order prohibiting attorneys and investigators from discussing the case outside court.
3/5/19: Wright: Bond hearing. Case will now go to the Grand Jury. 3/12/19: Indicted for Mary’s death. 6/11/19: Appeared in court to have bond reduced-denied. See below for rest info.
Court info from 12/20/18 thru 8/18/20 reference post #228 here:
GA - Mary & Elwyn Crocker Jr, both 14, starved, beaten & buried, Effingham Cnty, 20 Dec 2018 Arrests

10/14/20 Update: Candice Crocker: Status hearing on 10/15/20 @ 9am; Elwyn Crocker, Kim Wright & Mark Wright: Status hearing on 10/30/20 @ 9am. Ray Prater plead guilty (on 10/24/19) & will be sentenced after other defendants cases are complete.
10/15/20 Update: Candice Crocker: Plead guilty to 2 counts of malice murder, 2 counts of cruelty to child, to 2 counts of concealing a death & 2 counts of false imprisonment. Rest of the charges were Nolle Posequi. Sentenced to life without parole & credit for time served (12/20/18 to 10/21/20) to be served concurrently.
10/30/20 Update: Presiding Judge F. Gates Peed told each defendant separately the earliest trials could happen in Effingham County will be in January. Each set of attorneys defending Kim Wright, Mark Anthony Wright and Elwyn Crocker Sr., respectively, agreed in court February 1 of next year will be when a first round of preliminary motions will be filed. No word on when a trial date could be set. The public defenders are going through the discovery process. That means they are looking at evidence handed over by the state. The state is waiting on three more pieces of evidence undergoing DNA analysis right now.
*Roy Anthony Prater (55/now 57) (“step-grandma’s BF”) arrested (12/20/18), charged (1/29/19), indicted (3/18/19) & arraigned (4/17/19) with 1 count of felony murder (Mary’s death), 1st degree concealing the death of another, 1st degree cruelty to children, 3 counts possession of a controlled substance & 2 counts of manufacture, deliver, distribute & possession controlled substances. Plead not guilty. No bond.
10/24/19 Update: Plead guilty. Sentencing delayed until all defendants’ cases are complete. Will testify against the other 3 defendants.
*Candice Heather Crocker (33/now 35) (“step-mom”) arrested (12/20/18), charged (1/29/19), indicted (3/18/19) & arraigned (4/17/19) & re-arraigned (2/19/20) with 2 counts of malice murder, 2 counts of felony murder for the deaths of Elwyn, Jr. & Mary, 1 count of sexual battery, 4 counts of cruelty to children, 2 counts of false imprisonment & 2 counts of concealing a death. Plead not guilty (2/19/20). No bond. DA will seek DP.
10/3/19: Candice Crocker has been ordered to undergo a mental health examination. See below for rest of info.
10/15/20 Update: Plead guilty to 2 counts of malice murder, 2 counts of cruelty to child, to 2 counts of concealing a death & 2 counts of false imprisonment. Rest of the charges were Nolle Prosequi (dismissed). Sentenced to life without parole & credit for time served (12/20/18 to 10/21/20) to be served concurrently. In plea deal she must testify against the other 3 defendants.
 
  • #249
@watcher9 - just wondering if there might be an update in the court site for these guys?

TIA! :)
 
  • #250
@watcher9 - just wondering if there might be an update in the court site for these guys?

TIA! :)

Effingham Superior Court Clerk website still says COVID and there doesn't seem to be anything scheduled.
PeachCourt site shows action. I don't know if it was in person, video, mail or some other way.

Elwyn Crocker - An 80 day extension for filing pretrial motions was requested. It was ordered on Jan 27 2021 that the defense shall have until March 1, 2021 to file pretrial motions.

Mark Wright - 65 pretrial motions were filed on Jan 28 2021 by Attorney Melinda Ryals.

Kimberly Wright - 63 pretrial motions were filed on Jan 28 2021 and 55 more on Feb 1 2021 by Attorney Nathanial Studelska.

These motions tried to cover everything in the book and more. One motion was to limit the use of the word "murder" in court until after the trial is over. One was to bar policemen in uniform from sitting in the courtroom. The motion To Preclude Admission Of Gruesome And Highly Prejudicial Color Photographs Of Deceased And To Limit The Use Of Photographs To Relevant, Nonprejudicial And Nonduplicative Evidence made me sick. They seem to want to just dismiss all the evidence and charges and let them off like there was no crime.

Maybe this explains some of their actions.

Georgia Approaches Five Years With No Death Sentences | Death Penalty Information Center
 
  • #251
WOW!! That's a LOT of motions!! I figured it was too early to get a date from the site since it took a while to get this date! :)

Thanks for all that info - putting it all in my notes! ;)
 
  • #252
WOW!! That's a LOT of motions!! I figured it was too early to get a date from the site since it took a while to get this date! :)

Thanks for all that info - putting it all in my notes! ;)

I thought so too! I started to list the titles of each motion until I realized how many there were. Just by reading the titles of the motions, I was amazed at all the requests they were demanding. I imagine they are trying to get the death penalty dropped by overloading the workload for the prosecution.

I guess the next date to look for is March 1 2021 to see if those motions have been filed.

For those interested, the link is Document Access and Electronic Filing. It is a site where many counties in GA record their filings. You have to register with your name, email address and a password. They may have sent one email to me but nothing more. It is easy to navigate. I started by putting in one of the names, but sometimes I use the case number. You can look at the titles of each motion by scrolling through them. There is a button off to the right if you want to view the first page of any of them. Sometimes, it is hard to read or it only shows a title page. To go into further pages of the motion, it costs per page but I never went there.

ETA - I don't know why the link name shows ^ but it is PeachCourt.com if the link doesn't work.
 
  • #253
Ah @watcher9 - I forgot that I had signed up for that site! I'm not going to list all the motions... way too many!! LOL!
 
  • #254
How long will trial backlog loom over Georgia, South Carolina?

In Georgia

On Sunday, Georgia Chief Justice Harold D. Melton extended for another month the statewide judicial emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It continues the suspension of jury trials but signals they could resume next month, noting that “the surge in COVID-19 cases that led to the suspension of jury trials appears now to be declining.

Assuming that conditions generally continue to improve, it is anticipated that the next extension order on March 9 will authorize superior and state courts, in their discretion, to resume jury trials as local conditions allow,” the order says.
 
  • #255
The only thing new on the court site:

for Mark Wright:

2/18/21: #40 motion to dismiss the indictment due to the unconstitutional composition of the grand jury filed.

link: Document Access and Electronic Filing
 
  • #256
Okay - quite a few motions filed for Elwyn:

62 Certificate of Service certificate of service and index of motions #1-40 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 4

63 Motion motion # 2 notice of non waiver of rights 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 3

64 Motion motion # 3 notice of elwyn crocker revocation of any prior waivers and affirmative assertion of fourth fifth and sixth amendment rights 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 3

65 Motion exhibit a to def.'s motion #4 supplemental guidelines for the mitigation function of defense teams in death penalty cases 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 16

66 Motion motion # 5 motion to delcare unconstitutional a mandate requiring a defendant to waive his fifth amendment right to silence 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 4

67 Motion exhibit b to motion # 4 guidelines for the appointment and performance of defense counsel in death penalty cases, revised edition february 2003 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 51

68 Motion motion #4 notice of intent to abide by the american bar association guidelines for the appointment and performance of defense counsel in death penalty cases 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 6

69 Motion motion #6 motion to require investigative agencies to preserve notes on all interviews and investigative actions 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 4

70 Motion motion # 7 motion for an order to preserve all evidence and to preclude any additional state testing or examination of evidence that would alter reduce or destroy evidence without notice to the defense and prior to court arrival 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 13

71 Motion motion # 8 motion for the court reporters tapes and notes to be made a part of the record of these proceedings 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 8

72 Motion mmotion # 9 motion for an order requiring the distric attorney to respond in writing to each motion which is contested by the state 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 10

73 Motion motion #10 motion to prevent ex parte communication between the state and the court 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 5

74 Motion motion # 11 motion to adopt and conform applicable motions of other defendants 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 4

75 Motion motion # 12 motion for disclosure of any possible basis for recusal of judge 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 6

76 Motion moition # 13 motion for disclosure of any improper bias or prejudice grounds for any legal clain or possible basis for disqualification of district attorney court personnell or other state actors involvedin any way in this case 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 15

77 Motion moition #14 motion to follow supreme court jurisprudence for heightened reliability once the state seeks the death penalty 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 4

78 Motion moition # 15 motion to strike as unconstitutional the georgia statutes providing for the imposition of the death penalty and their application to this case 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 5

79 Motion motion # 16 motion to bar the death penaly for failure to state and offense punishable by death 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 15

80 Motion moition # 17 notice of defendants election to proceed under ocga 17-16-1 et seq 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 3

81 Motion moition # 18 motion for disclosure of favorable information 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 14

82 Motion moition #19 motion for dsiclousre of crimes wrongs or acts general bad character or prior conviction evidence and for a pretrial hearing to determine its admissibility 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 3

83 Motion moition #20 motion to bar introduction of any evidence relating to prior convictions or bad acts 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 8

84 Motion motion #21 motion for an order permitting discovery of transcript exhibits other memorialization of the grand jury proceedings 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 5

85 Motion motion #22 motion to require the state to provide al information regarding procedures used to identify defendant as one of the alleged perpetrators in this case 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 8

86 Motion motion # 23 motion for disclosure of psychiatric history of states witnesses 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 5

87 Motion motion # 24 motion to inspect examine and test physical evidence 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 8

88 Motion motion #25 motion for disclosure of scientific and expert reports 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 24

89 Motion moition #26 motion for production of georgia bureau of investigation crime laboratory written and recorded materials regarding this case including autopsy reports autopsy photographs and all other official reports lab notes and otehr recorded information related to this case 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 10

90 Motion motion #27 motion for an order requiring the disclosure of all information regarind state experts testing and examinations 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 9

91 Motion motion #28 motion for phone records and for electronic data in raw native form 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 13

92 Motion motion #29 motion for the production of toxicology and other scientific and expert reports regarding the decedent 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 10

93 Motion motion #30 motion for disclosure of electronic surveillance 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 5

94 Motion motion #31 motion to compel disclosure of confidential informants 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 11

95 Motion motion # 32 motion for disclosure of deal with candice crocker roy prater and any other prosecution witnessess 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 8

96 Motion motion #33 motion to produce photographs videotapes and digitally enhanced pr processed images 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 8

97 Motion motion # 34 notice of defendants intent to challenge the grand and traverse jury array 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 16

98 Motion motion # 35 motion to produce the testimony before the superior court of effingham county relating and pertaining to the search warrants issued in this case 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 3

99 Motion motion # 37 general demurrer 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 4

100 Motion motion # 36 special demurrer and motion to dismiss the indictment 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 5

101 Motion motion # 38 motion for bill of particulars for each count of the indictment 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 4

102 Motion motion # 39 motion to require the state to disclose information that would br favorable to the defense at the penalty phase 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 20

103 Motion motion # 3 motion reserving the right to file additional motions 03/01/2021 Bell, Jerilyn 4

link: Document Access and Electronic Filing
 
  • #257
Nothing for Kim Wright, but just a few for Wright.

126 Motion motion #36 objection to admisson of reports from state or federal crime laboratory 02/28/2021 Ryals, Melinda 6

127 Motion motion #74 motion for an order requiring that the bailiffs oaths of office be administered publicly and in the presence of the assembled jurors 02/28/2021 Ryals, Melinda 5

128 Motion motion #75 motion for an order expanding time for the preparation for jury selection 02/28/2021 Ryals, Melinda 5

129 Motion motion #76 motion in limine to bar improper closing argument by the prosecution 02/28/2021 Ryals, Melinda 6

130 Motion motion #77 motion for an order appointing non law enforcement personnel as jury bailiffs 02/28/2021 Ryals, Melinda 7

link: Document Access and Electronic Filing
 
  • #258
  • #259
I found a new Facebook page for the Effingham County Superior Court which lists the courts' schedules for last week. This may end up being another go-to page for court trials.
There is a new Clerk of Court in office now and he is eager to update old ways of doing things. Link below gives some of his changes thus far. Hopefully, we will have better access to court proceedings in the future.

Effingham County, GA Superior, State and Juvenile Court

Clerk of courts safeguards past with eye on the future
 
  • #260
A couple of new motions for Mark Wright.

Motion #24 - Motion for complete discovery regarding DNA evidence (includes exhibits) 3/15/2021 Ryals, Melinda 47 pages

Motion #25 - Motion to Preserve and Produce Evidence regarding negotiations between the State and any person regarding possible testimony against Mark Anthony Wright. 3/30/2021 Ryals, Melinda 10 pages

Document Access and Electronic Filing
 

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