Erica Parsons’ Parents To Face Death Penalty In Murder Trial

ROWAN COUNTY, NC — Casey and Sandy Parsons are facing the death penalty and will go on trial for murder in the spring of 2020, they learned Thursday. The news comes one year after the Rowan County couple were charged with the brutal abuse, murder and dismembering of Erica Parsons, the young disabled girl they adopted.

Casey Parsons’ murder trial will begin in April 2020, while no date has been finalized for Sandy Parsons trial, according to WSOC.

In February 2018, the couple was charged with first-degree murder, felony concealment of death and obstruction of justice when they lied to state investigators about their adopted daughter, Erica, who was homeschooled.

Investigators believe Erica was 12 or 13 when she died of "homicidal violence" after an autopsy concluded she "suffered terribly" before she died, the Charlotte Observer reported. Prosecutors say the girl, who was born deaf, was routinely abused and beaten by her adoptive parents, punished with starvation and locked in closets. An autopsy report said her death could have been from strangulation or the result of blunt force injuries suffered over the years, the newspaper said.

SEE ALSO: Hidden Torture: Murder Victim Erica Parsons Homeschooled

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

Photo via Shutterstock