[4] However, neither child was ever reported to be missing, and their disappearances were only discovered after the local police department received a tip from a family relative who believed that Mary Crocker was deceased.
After police officers interviewed the children's father, they decided to search the grounds of the family's residence in Guyton, Georgia, a small city located 28 miles (45 km) northwest of Savannah.
[3][7] At the time of the arrests, a child with cerebral palsy who lived in the home was taken into the care of Effingham County social services.
In late October of that year, the children's stepmother, Candice Crocker, pleaded guilty to murder, torture, sexual battery, and keeping both Elwyn Jr. and Mary in dog crates.
[8] The principal suspect, Elwyn Crocker Sr., faces multiple counts including murder, child cruelty, false imprisonment, and concealing a death.