On February, 24th 1998, Erica Parsons, came forth into this world.
At that time her legitimate mother was called Carolyn Parsons.
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Therefore, she felt a heavy burden to take care of the four children.point 57 | Now, with a few options at hand, Carolyn decided to leave Erica under the care of Steve’s brother, Sandy and his wife, Casey.point 162 | At that time they were residing in Salisbury, South Carolina.point 214 |
Though Carolyn would occasionally visit his daughter but, according to her statement the last time she saw Erica was in 2011.point 105 | 1
Finally, in 2013, Jamie Parsons decided to break the long silence in their home after realizing his was missing for too long. Apparently, when she asked his parents about his sister they always said Erica went to her grandmother. Noticing something was amiss Jamie decided to report the matter to the police. Actually, he stated the last he saw his sister was in November 2011. In fact, by the time of his report two years had already lapsed.
When the police began their investigations, her adoptive parents, said Erica Parsons had visited her grandmother, Irene Goodman who lived in Asheville. According to their statements, they claimed Erica’s biological father Billy Goodman contacted them. Apparently, he wanted to forge a relationship with his daughter. Therefore, they decide to let Erica live with her grandmother. This way it would be convenient for his dad to meet her.
However, when the police carried out their investigations, they discovered that Sandy’s and Casey’s statements were nothing but pure lies. Apparently, there was no existence of someone by the name Irene Goodman. Additionally, they discovered that Erica’s paternal grandmother passed away in 2005.
The police held Sandy and Casey Parsons on charges of felony, fraud, child abuse, and first-degree murder. Apparently, the investigators realized they were accepting Erica’s federal benefits after her disappearance.
Actually, Judge Thomas Schroeder referred to Casey as a serial swindler after she posted items on e-bay, took payment and failed to deliver them. Also, she opted to serve as a surrogate woman for Miller for a price of $10,000. However, she later disguised a miscarriage. Though this was not the case. Actually, she tried to sell the baby to her sister Ashley.
Luckily, Ashley carried out her investigations and found out that the baby belonged to a woman named Miller. Therefore, she looked for her and narrated the events. Together with the involvement of the police Miller was able to acquire custody of her daughter.
During Casey and Sandy’s sentencing trial, Ashley claimed Erica had suffered for a very long time under the hands of her adoptive parents. Also, she stated, Casey told her Erica needed to disappear from their lives. Actually, she confessed to having thoughts of eliminating her completely. Although Erica used to refer to her parents as ‘mom’ and ‘dad’, Casey asked her not to call them by those names. Instead, she was to call them by their first names.
In addition, Jamie claimed his parents always locked Erica in a closet and fed her canned dog food. Also, he testified that Erica’s mom would bend her fingers backward and fail to take her to the hospital even when she complained of sickness.
During the last night Jamie saw Erica, he remembers vividly her sister was crying in pain. She was saying, “I do not feel well, I look like a zombie.” Additionally, she was having trouble sleeping. When she tried to ask her mother for help, Casey told her rudely to keep quiet. Later, everything became silent and everyone retired to their respective beds.
On waking up, Jamie found out that both her parents and Erica were not around. Apparently, he thought they had gone to the hospital. When they returned, Erica was not in their presence. On asking, Casy told him she had gone to visit her grandmother. But, after months turned into years without seeing their sister, Jamie decided to report the matter to the police.
In August 2016, Sandy Parsons confessed and showed the police where they could find the remains of Erica.
On September 27, 2016, her body was found in a field in Pageland. An autopsy performed on the body revealed that the child had undergone torture. Apparently, the reports showed the girl was probably killed with a blunt object or strangled to death. Additionally, her bones indicated she was malnourished.
Some people feel the parsons should be hanged in the city square. Though Rowan County Sheriff Kevin Auten stated, “we cannot take the matter into our own hands, we will let the jury decide their fate.”