EFFINGHAM COUNTY, Ga. (Court TV) — A Georgia man received the maximum sentence for his participation in the systematic torture and murder of his 13-year-old niece, Mary Crocker, and 14-year-old nephew, Elwyn “JR” Crocker Jr., whose bodies were found buried in his backyard in 2018.

Mark Wright appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Nov. 14, 2025. (Court TV)

Superior Court Judge Matthew Hube sentenced Mark Anthony Wright to 80 years in prison after calling the case the most depraved he had encountered in his 25-year legal career. Wright pleaded guilty in August to second-degree murder , cruelty to children, and concealing the deaths of both victims.

“The picture painted by people who were around you, knew you best, is in direct conflict with what Dr. Garbarino told us,” Judge

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