Former Bulldogs wide receiver Akhil Crumpton was named as a suspect and arrested in connection with the March 2021 murder of 23-year-old Elijah Wood, according to a Wednesday Facebook post from the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office.
Wood was shot and killed on March 19 at approximately 1:30 a.m. while he was working as a clerk at the RaceTrac on Macon Highway in Oconee County.
Crumpton was identified as the suspect after the Oconee Co. Sheriff’s Office received information on Feb. 15 from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives that a ballistic match of shell casings found at the scene matched shell casings found at a crime scene in Philadelphia, said Oconee Sheriff James A. Hale Jr.
After learning of the match, the Oconee Co. Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation alongside the Federal Bureau of Investigation, ATF and Philadelphia Police Department. PPD investigators had already identified Crumpton as a suspect in their investigation, Hale said.
While investigating Crumpton, who is from Philadelphia, the Oconee Co. Sheriff’s Office discovered he attended UGA from 2017 to 2021 and was a wide receiver on the UGA football team in 2017 and 2018, playing in most games both seasons.
“For the past year we have seen the pain, agony, and frustrations this murder has brought to Elijah’s family, friends, and to our community,” Hale said in the Facebook post. “We all know this arrest will not bring Elijah back, but we hope his family, friends, and this community can now begin the healing process.”
The investigation is still active. Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office at (706) 769 3945.