ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — Casey Parsons, the adoptive mother of Erica Parsons, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and felony child abuse Friday in the death of the 13-year-old girl.
Casey will spend the rest of her life in prison as part of a plea agreement. Erica was first reported missing by her adoptive brother in 2013. He told investigators he hadn't seen her since November 2011, when she was 13 years old.
During Friday's hearing, Casey said she failed Erica.
"In the end, I failed her by choosing one child over another child," Casey said. "I want to say I'm sorry to God and to Erica."
"God gave me a precious gift, a baby girl Erica, and he had trusted me to take care of her, and I failed him and I failed Erica, I failed her horribly," Casey added.
Erica's biological mother, Carolyn Parsons, spoke to reporters outside the courthouse following the hearing.
"When that judge made that last statement, that last statement was, 'and you cannot be around children,'" Carolyn said. "Yee-haw, Casey loses here right to watch her grandkids grow up. What an incredible final end for her."
Carolyn said she's always been for a life sentence instead of the death penalty in this case.
"I still 100 percent agree with that because their life in prison, living her life in prison will be worse than any death sentence she could ever get," Carolyn said. "I don't know that I believe she is sorry."
Erica's adoptive parents, Casey and Sandy Parsons, refuted the claim that Erica hadn't been seen since November 2011, saying she went to live with relatives in Asheville. That claim was proven false by investigators.
Two years later, Sandy admitted to investigators that Erica was dead and led police to her body in a shallow grave in rural Chesterfield County, South Carolina. The remains were buried on a plot of land near Sandy's mother's home in Pageland.
A report from the Chief Medical Examiner revealed chilling details about Erica's life and death, ruling that she died as a result of homicide violence of undetermined means.
Family members reported that Erica was subjected to physical and emotional abuse by her adoptive parents, including that they forced her to sleep in a closet, eat dog food and choked and threw her to the ground.
During the hearing, prosecutors also described the history of abuse Erica faced. That includes being locked in a closet, burned, and being fed dog food.
"Her mother would bend Erica's fingers back, make her eat dog food, and put her fingers on a hot stove," the prosecutor said in court.
"She has no soul; she is a body that is just there," Carolyn said.
NBC Charlotte checked the jail website, and Sandy remained behind bars in the Rowan County jail. He's awaiting trial on first-degree murder and child abuse charges. Sandy's next court date is December.
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