SPRINGFIELD, Ga. — The estate of Elwyn John Crocker Jr., one of two siblings found buried behind their family’s Effingham County home in 2018, has sued four former school officials, alleging they failed to notify local law enforcement about a student’s report of abuse nearly two years before the children’s bodies were discovered.
The lawsuit, filed Oct. 14 in Effingham County Superior Court, alleges school officials reported the March 2017 warning to the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services but failed to notify Rincon police or the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office, as required by district policy.
The estate contends a law enforcement investigation could have uncovered the abuse and saved Elwyn’s life.
The following are key details from the lawsuit and a report by WJCL:
The defendants: The lawsuit names former Effingham County High School counselor Kate Richards Keith, former principal William “Billy” Walton Hughes, former district student support coordinator Terri Shuman Johnson and former school resource officer John Peny. They are being sued individually.
The student’s report: According to the complaint, a student told a faculty member on March 16, 2017, that she had heard Elwyn screaming while his step-grandmother, Kim Wright, told him to be quiet. The student also reported hearing what sounded like a belt striking skin and later seeing a red mark around Elwyn’s neck.
The DFCS report: The lawsuit says Keith submitted a report to DFCS at about 2:30 p.m. that day and emailed it to Hughes, Johnson and Peny. DFCS received the report but decided by the following morning not to investigate, according to the complaint.
The alleged failure: The estate argues school policy required suspected child abuse to be reported to local law enforcement within 24 hours. The complaint alleges none of the four defendants notified Rincon police or the sheriff’s office or submitted the required report to investigating authorities.
Training allegations: The lawsuit separately accuses Hughes and Johnson of failing to ensure school personnel received required child-abuse reporting training. The estate argues proper training would have clarified that notifying DFCS did not replace the obligation to contact law enforcement.
What the estate seeks: The complaint requests a jury trial and unspecified damages for Elwyn’s alleged mental and physical suffering before his death, attorneys’ fees and other relief.
The allegations have not been proven in court. The defendants have not yet had an opportunity to respond to the complaint, and no finding of liability has been made.
Children’s deaths led to prosecutions
Elwyn and his sister, Mary Crocker, were found buried behind their family’s Guyton-area home on Dec. 20, 2018, when deputies conducted a welfare check. The discovery came on what would have been Mary’s 14th birthday.
Five relatives were charged in connection with the children’s deaths: their father, Elwyn Crocker Sr.; stepmother, Candice Crocker; step-grandmother Kim Wright; uncle Mark Anthony Wright; and Roy Anthony Prater.
The criminal proceedings ended with guilty pleas from all five defendants, though their charges and roles differed.
- Candice Crocker and Roy Anthony Prater pleaded guilty in 2020 to charges connected to the abuse and deaths.
- Mark Anthony Wright pleaded guilty to charges including second-degree murder, cruelty to children and concealing a death. He was sentenced to 80 years in prison in November 2025.
- Kim Wright pleaded guilty in September 2025 to charges including two counts of malice murder, aggravated sexual battery, first-degree cruelty to children, false imprisonment and concealing deaths. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
- Elwyn Crocker Sr. pleaded guilty April 27, 2026, and received life in prison without parole plus 120 years.
