Erica Parsons' adoptive father briefly appears in court on murder charges

ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — The adoptive father of slain teenager Erica Parsons made a brief court appearance Thursday at the Rowan County courthouse.

[SPECIAL SECTION: Erica Parsons Case]

Rowan County Sheriff's Office detectives and a State Bureau of Investigations agent flew to the federal prison in Milan, Michigan Wednesday morning and took Sandy Parsons into custody. He arrived back in Rowan County around 4 p.m. and was transported directly to the detention center.

Sandy Wade Parsons (image courtesy Rowan County Sheriff's Office)

Eyewitness News reporter Mark Becker was in the courtroom as Sandy made his first appearance. The judge read Sandy the charges against him and Sandy was was appointed an attorney.

Erica's biological mother Carolyn Parsons was in the courtroom and told Channel 9 that the Sandy she saw in court was not the same man she once knew.

“That is not the Sandy Parsons I knew”—Carolyn Parsons after seeing him in court pic.twitter.com/KtFfoHbVly
— Mark Becker (@MarkBeckerWSOC9) March 15, 2018

Sandy was brought back on the same day that his wife, Casey Parsons, faced a judge on murder charges in the death of Erica.

[Erica Parsons Missing -- Timeline]

Around 4:30 p.m., Casey was brought into the courtroom where she requested a public defender.

Members of Erica's biological family, adopted family, and the community waited for hours Wednesday to watch Casey face the judge.

"I can't say there will ever be closure, but I can say this may help with closure," Carolyn Parsons, said.

Erica was reported missing in 2013 and her remains were found in 2016.

Casey and Sandy are accused of physically abusing Erica, killing her, and then trying to cover it up for years.

[Medical examiner says Erica Parsons died from 'homicidal violence']

"All the horrible things she did to my sister breaks me and rips my family apart," said Erica's biological sister, Brittany Cline.

Casey Parsons Casey Parsons entered a guilty plea in 2019 to the murder of her adoptive daughter Erica Parsons.

The Parsons have been in federal prison since 2014. They've been serving time on fraud charges for accepting benefits after Erica’s disappearance.

Casey and Sandy Parsons are charged with the following felonies:

First-degree murder
Felony child abuse with serious physical injury
Felony obstruction of justice
Felony concealment of death

Casey was being held in the Rowan County Detention Center under no bond.

Detectives say Casey Parsons is back in Rowan County to face murder charge in death of Erica Parsons. @wsoctv #Parsons #EricaParsons #RowanCounty #RCSO #Murder pic.twitter.com/rlEinEo3ja
— Tina Terry (@TinaTerryWSOC9) March 13, 2018

The couple's former attorney, Carlyle Sherill, predicts the trial will have to be held somewhere else.

[PHOTOS: Erica Parsons]

“There is a very good chance it will be moved out of Rowan County and I don't know how far they can go, but there has been a lot of publicity about it,” Sherill said.

Related content on the Erica Parsons case:

Sherill said any appointed defense attorney will likely focus on the autopsy that led to the charges.

The report detailed alleged abuse but didn't provide a cause of death other than homicidal violence of undetermined means.

“They can't say how she died,” Sherill said. “In fact, it says in there it could be from an infection. That's all we do is create a reasonable doubt.”

Erica Parsons, 13, was last seen November 2011, but she wasn’t reported missing until July 2013 by her adopted brother. (WSOCTV.com)

One person who has no doubt about the case is Teresa Goodman, Erica's biological aunt.

“Justice is finally coming for Erica,” Goodman said. “She (Casey Parsons) is going to have to pay for what she done and I am not going to let her get away with it.”