When Sandy and Casey Parsons were guests on the well-known “Dr. Phil” TV show, they seemed like loving, desperate parents who needed help finding their adopted daughter.
Erica had disappeared two years earlier, when she was only 11 years old. Sitting on the TV couch, Sandy and Casey said that she was living with her biological grandmother when she disappeared, and they appealed for her to come home soon.
Then after a series of questions from Dr. Phil, it was obvious there were holes in the couple’s story. But little did everyone watching know that their story would soon turn out to be darker than anyone could imagine.
It was the couple’s eldest son, James, who first reported Erica missing — two years after he had last seen her. Her disappearance was ignored for years. The girl was last seen alive in 2011, but she wasn’t reported missing until July 2013. Her body was found in 2016.
James even accused his parents of killing Erica and burying her near their home. When the parents explained to Dr. Phil why it took so long to report Erica missing, the interview took an unexpected turn. Dr. Phil immediately sensed that something was wrong and tried to find holes in the couple’s story.
When Dr. Phil read the results of a lie detector test, the couple refused to appear with their attorney. In the results, Dr. Phil stated that father Sandy’s answers to two of the questions were “strongly deceptive.” These questions were: “Did you deliberately cause Erica’s disappearance?” and “Did you have a plan to cause Erica’s disappearance?” He answered “no” to both questions.
There on live TV, the parents’ lives would change forever.
After the broadcast, the police began to dig into the case again
With the new evidence, a case could be brought against the couple. They are already serving time for financial crimes for cashing adoption checks after Erica’s disappearance.
During the trial, details of Erica’s life were revealed that would make anyone feel sick to the stomach. The court heard from the couple’s eldest biological son, who said Erica was routinely abused and locked in various closets without access to the bathroom and was routinely starved as a punishment.
The couple was charged with first-degree murder, felony concealment of death and obstruction of justice for lying to North Carolina investigators, according to the Charlotte Observer.
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All children are entitled to be loved. Nevertheless, abuse like this happens every second, every minute and every hour of every day in every country, city and culture.
A child’s home should be free from violence and should be a safe place. Children need love, tenderness and warmth — and a hug can sometimes be worth a lot more than you could ever imagine.
Please share this story with all your friends on Facebook to show that them that no child should ever endure such a heartbreaking existence.
