Erica Lynn Parsons was reported missing in August 2013, when her 19 year old step-brother went to the authorities to say he had not seen her since late 2011. Erica’s adoptive parents, Casey and Sandy Parsons, claimed that they left her with a biological relative, but their story did not add up and neither Erica nor the biological relative were anywhere to be found. Relatives who knew the family said that the Parsons household was often violent, and that Erica frequently bore suspicious bruises. There was also a previous child abuse case that had been closed. Erica was not reported missing by her school because she was homeschooled from 2005, when she was seven, until her disappearance. When they began homeschooling Erica, Casey and Sandy filed the required North Carolina homeschool paperwork, establishing “Parsons Christian School.” Authorities did not know that Erica did not participate in the required standardized testing in the two years since her disappearance because the state does not check up on homeschools or require them to submit their test scores. As the adoptive parents of a special needs child, Casey and Sandy continued collecting state checks until she was reported missing; they are currently serving prison sentences for fraud. In August 2016, Sandy Parsons told police that Erica was dead and led them to her body, which had been buried in a shallow grave.

Date: August, 2013
Location: Salisbury, North Carolina