SALISBURY, N.C. -- The adoptive parents of Erica Parsons have both been charged with first-degree murder for the death of the girl who was first reported missing five years ago from her home in Salisbury.
The murder indictment was announced in Salisbury by the Rowan County Sheriff Kevin Auten.
The indictment also charges Sandy and Casey Parsons, Erica's adoptive parents, with abuse and disposing of a body after dismembering it.
The Sheriff admitted there were times during the long five-year investigation when he had doubts that this day would ever come. But he said through the hard work of investigators that the day did come when the indictment was returned Monday by a Grand Jury.
"We just did not want to leave a little girl out there. We wanted to bring her home," the Sheriff said.
The house where the Parsons lived in Salisbury has been remodeled and sold to new owners.
Around town and at the Checkered Flag Bar-B-Que, the murder indictment came as good news to people who remembered the story and the little girl.
Larry Lackey who was there for lunch said, "Like they say, 'if you do the crime you have to pay.' I think it's terrible that anyone would take anyone's life, especially that of a child."
Erica's biological mother, Carolyn Parsons, who lives out of state now, got the word of the indictment from NBC Charlotte's Rad Berky.
In a phone interview, she said she was ecstatic, adding, she never doubted the Parsons were guilty.
"They will never see the light of day. For me, that speaks volumes," she said.
Casey and Sandy Parsons are now serving federal prison sentences for collecting financial benefits for Erica even after she went missing.
In the coming weeks, they will be returned to Salisbury to stand trial.