On July 30, 2013, Erica's then 19-year-old adoptive brother, Jamie Parsons, had a fight with his parents, whereupon he reported Erica missing. He said he had not seen his adoptive sister in almost two years. He told police that Erica had been abused, and that he believed his parents had killed Erica, burying her in their backyard. He later retracted those statements, although he later testified at his parents' trial that there had been ongoing abuse. Jamie testified that the last time he saw Erica was November 19, 2011. She was standing in a corner, which was a common punishment Erica endured. "She didn't look too good – she looked like a
zombie", he said. "She said she did not feel good. She said she could not breathe too good." Casey Parsons heard this and told her "to shut the fuck up". When he awoke the next morning, his parents had left early, which was unusual, and Erica was gone. His parents returned to the home without Erica and he felt something wasn't right; "Mama looked normal", he said. "Daddy looked sick, like he was about to throw up", Jamie testified. "Mama went on her recliner with the computer. Daddy, it was a blank stare." When asked where Erica was, they told Jamie that Erica had gone to live with her biological grandmother.
Abuse allegations A number of witnesses testified at the Parsons' trial that Erica was routinely abused by the Parsons family, in particular by her adoptive mom, Casey. Casey's sister, Robin Ashley, testified that Casey beat Erica, often making her stand in the corner. Photographs of Erica standing in the corner on five occasions were presented to the court. Ashley testified that she saw bruises and marks on Erica, and that Casey relinquished the child to Ashley's custody for several months so that Casey "wouldn't kill her". Casey took her back fearing she would get in trouble for receiving money for a child who was not in her home.
Warrants showed the couple continued to cash checks when Erica was not living with them. Investigators found red stains in the house but have not said what tests showed about them. Casey pleaded guilty to 15 charges, while Sandy opted for a trial. A jury found Sandy guilty on most of the charges in October 2014. At a sentencing hearing in federal court on February 18, 2015, Jamie Parsons and Robin Ashley testified about abuse Erica received at the hands of the Parsons family. Federal prosecutor Anand Ramaswamy said there was no record of Erica during the time her adoptive parents illegally accepted money, claiming, "The reason is she's no longer alive." The hearing was continued until March 27. Prosecutors also presented evidence of a series of scams allegedly perpetuated by Casey Parsons. In 2000, Casey was hired to be a surrogate mother. She became pregnant and took a payment of $10,000 for her services. Weeks later, she called the biological mother, Amy Miller, to say that she had miscarried. Miller says she believed Casey was still pregnant as Casey refused to turn over medical records, changed her phone number, and sent her "nasty emails". Judge Schroeder called Casey a "serial swindler". On March 27, 2015, U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder sentenced Casey Parsons to 10 years and her husband to 8 years for fraud. Schroeder "believes Casey was the brains behind what happened" and said Erica "endured horrific abuse", saying that the fraud distracted investigators from the other problems. The judge also said there was no evidence Erica was living. Federal records showed that as of July, Casey Parsons, whose release date as per her plea deal is December 11, 2023, was sent to
Carswell Federal Medical Center in Texas. Sandy Parsons, whose release date is March 14, 2022, was sent to
Butner Federal Prison in North Carolina. Casey Parsons was later sent to
Federal Correctional Center Tallahassee. Both parents have appealed their sentences. The
United States Supreme Court rejected Sandy Parsons's appeal in June 2016.
Additional information Sandy and Casey Parsons appeared on the
Dr. Phil talk show. As part of the show, Sandy Parsons took a
polygraph, and was considered "strongly deceptive" by the former
FBI agent who administered the test. Casey Parsons claimed to be experiencing a high level of pain, which could invalidate a polygraph, and never completed it. On August 27, 2013, Sandy and Casey Parsons moved to Fayetteville. On January 30, 2014, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation offered a $25,000 reward, in addition to the $10,000 offered by the sheriff, for information leading to the location of the girl. Six months later, the total reward increased to $50,000. In September 2015, an Illinois
tracker dog company called K-9 Specialties came to Salisbury after being hired by local residents. On September 29, 2016, after another round of searches and questioning, Sandy Parsons led investigators to Erica's skeletal remains. They were buried in a small grave near the home of Sandy's mother on Blair Hendrick Road, between the towns of
Pageland and
Mount Croghan,
South Carolina. Before the discovery, detectives recovered items in the search of a shed on property belonging to Sandy, including: a video tape, a hammer, teeth, and school records. ==Discovery of remains==