The Children of a Walmart Santa Claus Were Found Buried in Yard. Relative Who Helped Texted Him, 'How Deep?' By KC Baker

A Georgia man has admitted to helping his sister’s husband kill two of their children and bury their bodies in the backyard of their family’s mobile home.

Mark Wright pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, first-degree cruelty to children, second-degree cruelty to children, two counts of concealing the death of another and false imprisonment, District Attorney Robert Busbee announced in a statement on Friday, Aug. 29.

As part of his agreement with prosecutors, Wright pleaded guilty in exchange for having his original charge of malice murder reduced to second-degree murder and one of two counts of first-degree cruelty to children reduced to second-degree, according to the district attorney.

The death penalty was taken off the table as part of the agreement, Busbee noted. Wright faces up to 80 years in prison when he is sentenced in October.

As PEOPLE previously reported, in 2018, Wright was one of five people indicted in connection with the deaths of Elwyn Crocker Jr., 14, in 2016, and his sister, Mary Crocker, also 14, in 2018, whose bodies were found in the back of their father’s mobile home in Guyton in Dec. 2018.

The indictment also charged the children’s father, Elwyn Crocker Sr., a onetime Walmart Santa Claus, Elwyn Sr. is facing multiple charges, including malice murder, child cruelty and concealing a death. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

Kim Wright, who is Mark Wright’s mother and the children’s step-grandmother, faces similar charges. She and Crocker Sr. pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.

Candice Crocker, the children’s stepmother, and Roy Prater, Kim Wright’s boyfriend, pleaded guilty to murder in 2020. They were sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The case made national headlines when authorities made the grim discovery of the children’s bodies buried in their yard behind their own house.

Mary Crocker, 14, allegedly spent much of her young life zip-tied, starved and held in a dog cage while naked, and was beaten when she tried to eat food, prosecutors said in 2019. She was last seen in October 2018.

Her brother, Elwyn Crocker Jr., 14, who was two years older than Mary, was last seen in November 2016. He was also severely beaten by his father, prosecutors allege.

The children were never reported missing. Authorities found the bodies after performing a welfare check at their home in 2018.

Text messages between the suspects before and after they allegedly killed and buried Mary in October 2018 provide insight into their states of mind at the time.

At a hearing in May, Prosecutor Matthew Breedom told the court that Elywn Crocker Sr. texted Candice Crocker and said, “I think she’s been hit in the head too many times,” KTVZ and WJCL reported.

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At 5:33 p.m. on Oct. 27, 2018, Elwyn Crocker Sr. texted Kim Wright, saying, “Almost done burying Mary’s body.” 

Kim Wright responded, “Cool! How deep?”

While Crocker Sr. was allegedly burying Mary’s body, he texted Kim Wright, saying, “There was a car driving by, driving by very slowly, I think it was a cop.”

Afterward, Crocker Sr. and Kim Wright texted each other about plans to go to the movies after burying Mary’s body, Breedom said.

Attorneys for Mark Wright, Kim Wright and Crocker Sr. did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.