The remains of the children of a former Walmart Santa have been found buried in the backyard of his US home, in what authorities have described as a “gruesome discovery”.
Elwyn Crocker has been charged with concealing death and cruelty to children and has been denied bail after police in Georgia received a tip that his 14-year-old daughter Mary was missing and feared dead.
Police noticed they were given conflicting information while questioning her family.
After speaking to her father, they searched the property and found the bodies of two children — Mary and her brother Elwyn Croker Jr.
Elwyn had vanished in November 2016, according to police.
“Deputies questioned the adult family members in the house and were told Mary had gone to live with her mother,” the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office said.
The children’s bodies were later discovered buried near bushland outside their home, according to investigators.
“I’ve been doing this 41 years, and a while ago I almost broke down in tears,” Effingham County Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie said.
“It’s that bad. I cannot understand how you do children like this. It’s horrible.”
Neither child was officially reported missing and authorities are trying to work out how they died.
Local media is reporting that Mr Crocker had recently worked as Santa at a nearby Walmart.
The children had been enrolled in county schools but were homeschooled before they disappeared.
Candice Crocker, the children’s stepmother, their stepgrandmother Kim Wright and her boyfriend Anthony Prater are facing the same charges and remain in custody.
Investigations are continuing and more charges could be laid, the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office said.
