Almost Forgotten: The Erica Parsons Story
- Gina Westfall
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
On a cold February morning in 1998, Carolyn Parsons welcomed a baby girl into the world that she named Erica. Erica was her fourth child. She had three with her estranged husband, but Erica’s biological father was a man named Billy Dean Goodman who was no longer in the picture by the time of her arrival. Carolyn was already struggling to raise her three children and wasn’t prepared for Erica. She made the heartbreaking choice to put her daughter’s needs first, placing Erica for adoption.
Carolyn herself had grown up in foster care and children’s homes. Wanting better for her baby girl, she agreed to let her brother and sister-in-law adopt Erica. Sandy, Carolyn’s brother, and his wife Casey agreed to care for the girl and allow Carolyn to watch her daughter grow up. Carolyn felt this would give her daughter the best chance in life. The adoption was finalized in 2000.
Erica was considered a special needs child as she had a hearing impairment. Casey homeschooled Erica most of her childhood, receiving subsidies from the government for adoption assistance and Erica’s special needs. Casey and Sandy were receiving over $600 a month from the government in assistance for Erica. Meanwhile, Erica continued to visit Carolyn. She had no relationship with Billy Dean Goodman.
In the fall of 2011, Carolyn visited her daughter, who was then thirteen years old. After that visit, the visits stopped. Casey and Sandy made excuses why Carolyn could not see Erica. Carolyn was upset but didn’t have much recourse as they were her legal parents now. Carolyn had her own responsibilities and struggles, but she kept trying.
On July 30th, 2013, an upset nineteen-year-old Jamie Parsons walks into a police station after having a volatile fight with his parents, Sandy and Casey. What he tells the officers shocks them to their core. He tells them that his younger sister Erica has been missing for two years and he is pretty sure his parents killed her buried the body in the backyard!
While some of the officers were skeptical, thinking this was a pissed off teenager trying to get back at his parents, the story had to be investigated. The detectives had to confirm the whereabouts of Erica Parsons. They went to the Parsons’ home and spoke with Casey and Sandy who confirmed that Erica was not there. It didn’t appear as if Erica had lived there for quite some time. There was no space for her.
According to Casey, Erica had gotten in touch with her maternal grandmother, Irene Goodman, who goes by “Nan”. The two had bonded and grew close. In December of 2011, according to Casey, Erica chose to go live with “Nan”. That story should be easy enough to confirm with Irene Goodman. Casey was unable to provide Irene Goodman’s contact information, however. She did not have a phone number or address for her. She claimed she had communicated with her on Facebook, but both the profiles she and Irene had used had since been deleted. She said she had been shown pictures of the house Erica was living in but didn’t have them any longer. She claimed she had never been to “Nan’s” house.
Jamie Parsons said that the last time he saw Erica was in November of 2011. He said she was standing in a corner and “didn’t look good”. He said that his parents often abused the girl. He said, “She didn’t look good – she looked like a zombie.” He went on to say she was having trouble breathing but was told to “shut the fuck up” by Casey. He said the next morning, his parents left with Erica and came back alone. He said his mother looked fine, but his father looked sick. He hasn’t seen Erica since. His mother told him the story of “Nan”.
Detectives investigated Irene Goodman to see if there was such a person. Billy Dean Goodman’s mother was not Irene Goodman and there was no Irene Goodman in his family. Police were unable to find any evidence of any contact with a person by this name and Casey, Sandy, or Erica Parsons. Casey was unable to provide any evidence of any communication with Irene Goodman either. The detectives determined “Nan”, likely does not exist at all.
Casey and Sandy Parsons appeared on the Dr. Phil Show in August of 2013 to plead their innocence and tell the tale of “Nan”, explaining that she met them at a McDonalds with a trunk load of new clothes, a woman named Strawberry, and a baby. This is when she took Erica to live with her forever in Asheville, North Carolina. As part of the show, they were given lie detector tests- Sandy failed and Casey declined at the last minute due to pain.
Many witnesses were concerned about Erica’s safety because they had witnessed abuse in the home directed at Erica from Casey. She was often made to stand in the corner. Others testified to seeing bruises and bite marks on her often. Casey would give Erica to her sister for months at a time “so she wouldn’t kill her” but would take her back to avoid getting in trouble for receiving government funds for her.
Erica was subjected to horrendous abuse including having her fingers bent backwards routinely until they broke and then being denied medical care, being locked out for hours at a time, being forced to stay in a closet for hours and punished for relieving herself inside and being forced to eat dog food. Sometimes, Casey’s father Sandy would get mad and punch her in the head.
On July 13th, 2014, Casey and Sandy Parsons were arrested and charged with several federal fraud charges related to collecting the funds for Erica for months after she was no longer living with them. While there was not enough evidence to charge them for hurting Erica and no one knew where Erica was, there was enough evidence to charge them for this. Casey pleaded guilty to 15 charges. Sandy opted for trial. He was found guilty of several federal crimes. At his sentencing hearing the prosecutor said, “The reason is she is no longer alive”, pointing the finger at Casey and Sandy for her death.
Casey was sentenced to ten years for her crimes on March 7th, 2015, and Sandy was sentenced to eight years. While in prison, Sandy and Casey’s daughter appealed to her father to tell the truth about what happened to Erica. Sandy came forward and admitted that Erica was dead because of child abuse at the hands of Casey and himself. He agreed to lead authorities to the body.
Sandy Parsons pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 43 years in prison, making him first eligible for parole at age 82. Casey Parsons’ plead guilty and was given a life sentence plus 23 years in prison.
Erica’s story is a cautionary tale. She is a child who went under the radar and whose death almost went unnoticed. If not for the brave actions of Jamie, she may still be buried somewhere almost forgotten.
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