Erica Parsons’ adoptive father transfers to state prison on murder charge

ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — A man convicted of murdering his adopted daughter was transferred from federal to state prison to serve time for the murder charge.

A new chapter has begun in the justice for a Rowan County girl who was murdered by her adoptive parents.

[The Erica Parsons Story: A Channel 9 special report]

Channel 9 anchor Allison Latos has followed Erica Parson’s case for years and had exclusive aspects of the case in an hour-long special earlier this year.

Erica’s adoptive parents, Casey and Sandy Parsons, admitted that they killed and buried her. However, the confessions didn’t happen until they were locked up for charges that they had accepted Erica’s federal benefits after she disappeared.

The last time Sandy Parsons was in North Carolina, he admitted to killing his adopted daughter, Erica.

On Thursday, prison records showed the Rowan County man had returned to the Tar Heel State. Sandy Parsons has been in prison since 2014 at a New Jersey federal facility for accepting Erica’s financial benefits long after she disappeared.

[Who is Sandy Parsons?]

“It shows our plan worked wonderfully,” Rowan County Sheriff Kevin Auten said. “The federal system helped us with that leverage to make him think about the crime and fortunately, his heart got in the right place.”

Erica vanished in late 2011 but nobody knew she was missing until 2013. That was when her adopted brother, Jamie, reported Erica missing. The Parsons lied for years, saying that Erica had gone to live with a biological grandmother named “Nan.”

Sandy Parsons led investigators to Pageland, South Carolina in 2016 to a shallow grave where he and his wife had buried Erica’s remains.

[SPECIAL SECTION: Erica Parsons]

Sandy Parsons has begun a state sentence of 33 to 43 years for second-degree murder and other charges connected to Erica’s tragic death -- a death caused by years of abuse, neglect and trauma.

Sandy Parsons will be in his 80s before he’s ever eligible for parole.

Erica’s adoptive mother Casey Parsons is behind bars in Florida in a federal prison. She’ll be released next November to start serving time in North Carolina for the rest of her life.

(Watch the video: A timeline of the Erica Parsons case)

A timeline of the Erica Parsons case

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