‘You need to die in penitentiary:’ Ga. man sentenced for kidnapping son, murdering 3 family members

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A Georgia jury found a man guilty of kidnapping his 2-year-old son and killing three of the child’s family members three years ago.

Channel 2′s ABC affiliate WGXA-TV was inside a Macon courtroom on Thursday for Caesar Crockett’s sentencing. He will have to serve life in prison on the murder charges, life in prison for kidnapping and 20 years for aggravated assault.

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Crockett will not be eligible for parole on the life sentences, according to the TV station.

“Ultimately, this is between you and God. Your more immediate concern is what’s about to happen in this room...That’s between you and me. You need to die in the penitentiary,” Judge Howard Simms said.

On March 31, 2020, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office issued an Amber Alert for a 2-year-old who was taken by his father, Crockett.

Deputies said Crockett and the child’s mother, Jamila French, got into an argument at a Macon home. Crockett pulled out a gun and shot and killed French’s mother, Janet Samuel, her stepfather James Samuel and her sister Lechasta Childs.

“He grabbed it, and I grabbed my mom and shoved her in front of me, saying, run, he’s got the gun. He’s gonna shoot us. Run. When I asked about my family, the officer just put his head down and said, ‘They’re gone.’ I asked him who was gone. He just said, ‘They’re gone.’ I asked him again. Everybody? He said yes. Everybody’s gone,” French testified during the trial.

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After the murders, Crockett kidnapped the 2-year-old and drove the toddler to Tampa, Florida. Police said he crashed a car and started a standoff with officers for six hours.

One of the Tampa officers took the stand for the state and testified that Crockett made multiple statements about killing himself, WGXA-TV reported.

“He explained to me that he had just snapped and made a big mistake. During that, basically, there was no coming back from this, and he was concerned that he needed to take his life because of the fact there was no coming back and he did not want to go to jail,” Lt. Whitney McCormick said.

On the last day of the trial, Crockett took to the stand in his own defense. Crockett blamed the deaths on the Mexican cartel and said he received threatening text messages months before the shooting.

The jury ruled in favor of the state’s case and French’s testimony and found Crockett guilty. The trial lasted only three days.

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