Real Crime with Trench Reynolds

Erica Parsons hasn’t been seen in two years, reported missing last month

Trench Reynolds
1–2 minutes
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Erica Parsons in 2010

Erica’s mom: Adoptive parents are not forthcoming:

Erica Parsons’ adoptive parents move out of Salisbury home:

How Erica could disappear and no one notice:

I apologize for not posting about Erica Parsons. Even though the story is a month old and is happening not too far from where I live I’ve been so involved in my own little world that I hadn’t heard her story until recently. If you’re like me and have not heard Erica’s story here’s what is known.

Erica’s biological mother gave her up for adoption in 2000 when Erica was 2. Erica’s was adopted by her biological mother’s in-laws who line in Salisbury, North Carolina. I’m not going to name them because they have not been charged with a crime…yet.

Last month Erica’s adopted brother reported her missing. After authorities investigated her disappearance it turns out that no one has seen Erica since 2011. Her adoptive parents allegedly claim that they dropped her off at a McDonald’s in Mooresville, NC so she could go live with her paternal grandmother, Irene Goodman, in Asheville, NC. Except police can’t find an Irene Goodman and Erica’s biological mother says that Erica’s paternal grandmother died five years ago.

Erica was allegedly home-schooled by her adoptive parents and the parents allegedly collected state checks the entire time Erica was missing. On top of that they recently moved out of their home where investigators found books and magazines about JonBenet Ramsey.

A lot pf people would be quick to compare Erica’s story to that of Zahra Baker since they happened relatively not too far from each other. However I would say this is more like Caylee Anthony especially considering they say that Erica was dropped off with an allegedly fictitious person. Irene Goodman is the Zenaida Gonzalez of the Erica Parsons story.

Enhanced photo showing how Erica may look today.

Maybe Erica is alive and her adoptive parents are only guilty of fraud. Unfortunately these stories usually do not have such happy endings.

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38 responses to “Erica Parsons hasn’t been seen in two years, reported missing last month”

  1. ronni Avatar
    ronni

    This one is a real heartbreaker! That poor child!

    Reply
  2. Skye Belle Matilda Brand Avatar
    Skye Belle Matilda Brand

    Fuck me. My kids run out of my sight in the playground for more than 10 seconds & I’m feeling sick…I can’t imagine a child missing for that long & NO ONE knew!

    Reply
    1. Lucy Avatar
      Lucy

      She’s never been missing. Her parents have always known exactly where she is.

      Reply
      1. Skye Belle Matilda Brand Avatar
        Skye Belle Matilda Brand

        But what about neighbours, family friends, extended family…where were all those people?????

        Reply
        1. Lucy Avatar
          Lucy

          “Home schooled.” And likely the parents were reclusive – not friendly enough with neighbors for them to keep count of the kids. As for the extended family, from the sounds of things, I wouldn’t trust the lot of ’em to pet sit my dog. With each news article, the whole situation gets more and more whacked.

          Reply
          1. Benighted Avatar
            Benighted

            Not just home schooled, but home schooled in a situation where no oversight was required. Where I am, if you home school you have to file progress reports and test scores with the state to prove you are doing a decent job of teaching your kids, and the state can even intervene and require the children be returned to a public or private school if they are failing under home schooling. Not so in NC apparently.

            IMO if a child disappears, other than an initial quick sweep of obvious places, the first reaction of a normal parent is to alert authorities. Any parent who lets any significant amount of time slip by without filing a missing persons report is immediately suspect.

          2. Muggle Avatar
            Muggle

            This. It’s always why I found Caylee’s Law utterly pointless and nothing but a ploy for self-righteous people to feel superior to Casey Anthony.

            Most parents will contact authorities when they realize their child is missing. Oh, they might spend a bit looking for the child, calling neighbors, the school, etc. but once they find that the child isn’t in any of those places, they’ll call the police.

            The ones who don’t report their kids missing for several days, or weeks like Casey Anthony, or TWO YEARS like these two shining examples of humanity, are the ones who have either offed their kids or had a hand in the offing. Caylee’s Law is just one extra charge to tack on to someone who faces decades in prison, if not the death penalty.

          3. Skye Belle Matilda Brand Avatar
            Skye Belle Matilda Brand

            That’s such a sad situation. I love that my neighbours look out for my kids. When my 4 year old figured out how to open the gate & say on the front verandah while I was on the loo my neighbour spotted her & came & put her back in the yard & called out to let me know where she found her. There is now a pool gate latch!

  3. tinalovesnick Avatar
    tinalovesnick

    According to the news stories, red stained flooring, red stained drywall, shrink wrapped knives, and teeth were also recovered in the same shed where the magazines of JonBenet Ramsey were. The family of the accused have made statements of witnessing Erica’s abuse, one article quoted them as seeing Erica stand and suffer through it as if she was dearly afraid and also that she was made to live outside like a dog. 😦

    Reply
  4. Jenny R. Avatar
    Jenny R.

    Dr.Phil did a two-parter on this case, thoroughly interviewing the couple and some others. The mother screams psychopath. No emotion whatsoever, nothing but her mouth moved on her face, her eyes were dead and black, no life or light in them, and her eye contact was as flighty as a hummingbirds. I can’t recall a clip in which she met dr.phils eyes for more than a quarter second.

    She has no phone number, address, pictures, letters, video, email address, chat logs, or texts verifying her ridiculous yarn spinning. The husband claimed to have not spoken to the fictitious grandmother even just once, and changed his story a couple of times; couldn’t decide which lie he wanted to stick with.

    Her husband took a lie detector test and failed. The mother refused to take it altogether, and they skipped back home ASAP, vehemently denying the follow-through of the interview post test results.

    This child is dead, I guarantee it. 😦

    Reply
  5. Mauz Avatar
    Mauz

    This child has been murdered. 100% certain. Poor girl. 😦

    Reply
  6. dumpsterbunnie Avatar
    dumpsterbunnie

    im not against home schooling that is a parent peragative and i plan on doing the same untill mine are ten but so many crazies use it as a cover to abuse torture and killing there children or just to cover neglect i also believe kids need friends and other extra courriculars it sad that poor girl her piecesof shit that used her for a check and shit all over her young life should be shot in the knees

    Reply
    1. Benighted Avatar
      Benighted

      I think taking them part way with homeschooling is a good idea. I have a couple of friends who homeschooled all the way to HS graduation level and when the kids went to college they struggled hard during their first year to get used to the group-based system of education as opposed to the one-on-one attention they had been used to. One never did acclimatize and despite his intelligence and high grades dropped out of college early in the 2nd year.

      But yes, you are right, I don’t think we have any idea how many “home schooled” children aren’t really being “home schooled” at all. How many times in abuse and death cases do we hear one or more children in a family were homeschooled, or were abruptly pulled from the public school system to be “educated” at home, to be followed by being rushed to hospital, or worse. I was shocked to discover recently that there are some states with virtually no oversight for homeschooling, pretty much all you have to do is inform the state your child will be homeschooled and that’s it. No reports, grades or lesson plans have to be filed, no standardized testing required. I think it’s high time more attention was brought to the matter; maybe us BB regulars could even play a part in it.

      Reply
      1. Muggle Avatar
        Muggle

        What amazes me is that homeschooling parents, who are apparently so concerned about their children’s educations, will get pissed off if the state asks for lesson plans, curricula, and regular progress reports, AND make sure the student passes the state tests. Like, hello? That’s exactly what public and private school teachers have to do. You don’t just get to tell the state “yeah, I’m going to teach my kid at home, thanks” and not expect the state to treat you like a real teacher and school administrator, and keep tabs on your children’s progress.

        If you really expect that, you shouldn’t fucking breed.

        Reply
        1. risskia Avatar
          risskia

          A lot of us who homeschool do so precisely because we don’t WANT to use “lesson plans and curricula” because that may not be how our children learn best and we think that “state tests” are poor measures of learning – which they are. My son, for example, learns best with curiosity. HE sets the “lesson plans” and before you scoff, please know that my 8 year old can explain basic US government (three branches, their essential functions, and our basic voting system and rights) and he can do this because he got interested in a 10th grade civics book i brought home and pointed out some interesting pages in.
          HOWEVER, would I be offended or upset if someone wanted use to show up every now and again or if someone showed up here to check on us and make sure everyone is…oh, i dunno…alive? No. It DOES disturb me that, while I WAS (we had to return to public school this year because of family situation) educating and loving on my fabulous child, no one was making sure that he was even alive. It would have been easy for me to do whatever to him, and no one would have known.
          I live in NC, USA

          Reply
          1. Benighted Avatar
            Benighted

            That’s the problem right there, the lack of follow up. I don’t think any *good* homeschooling parent would mind filing the odd report or having an occasional interview about what the child has been learning, what is being done to socialise them outside the home etc. For the authorities to cut a child loose because a parent *says* they are being homeschooled is not acceptable IMO.

          2. disqus_u59jS0BK0B Avatar
            disqus_u59jS0BK0B

            Thank you, we’ll said!

          3. Skye Belle Matilda Brand Avatar
            Skye Belle Matilda Brand

            I completely understand the need for some children to not have to follow the regular curriculum. Some kids are too far ahead & some are too far behind due to special needs. These kids need individual attentionthat the public system just can’t provide. I think the point here is that the parents who homeschool becauseof a genuine desire to see their children get the best possibleeducation would welcome visits from some governing body becauseit would give them an opportunity to demonstrate just how well the child is doing!

            Those who homeschool to cover up abuse or to prevent their child from learning anythingother than their fundamentalist mumbo jumbo don’t want prying eyes becausesomeone might alert the authorities to the abuse (and yes, I considercomplete immersion in a fundamentalist lifestyle with no opportunity to lern about other opinionschild abuse).

          4. Skye Belle Matilda Brand Avatar
            Skye Belle Matilda Brand

            Apologies for the lack of spacing…my touch screen is losing touchiness so it’s getting hard to type with any sort of accuracy!!!!!

          5. Muggle Avatar
            Muggle

            I understand that some kids might not do well in public schools and would need to deviate from the “standard” curriculum as well. Hell, I’m one of those people who just did not do well in a public school environment.

            I’m just saying, parents who homeschool even with the best of intentions and then get pissy when the state takes measures to ensure they’re actually educating their kids annoy the fuck out of me. Kids are NOT the property of their parents. We’re supposed to call the police when we see neighbors starving and beating their pets, we’re supposed to call the police on people who beat and scream at their partners, but when it comes to kids we don’t interfere because “it’s not our place.” That, ladies and gentlemen, is why child abuse is as common as it is, why it goes on until the child gets tired of the abuse, and why parents who have legitimate reasons to homeschool shouldn’t bitch when the state they live in treats them like real teachers.

          6. disqus_u59jS0BK0B Avatar
            disqus_u59jS0BK0B

            So if your son isn’t “curios” about a certain subject then what, you don’t make him learn it? Kids have to go to school and learn what is being taught even if the not interested in the subject and guess what, they still learn it without being the ones calling the shots! I’m sorry but or an idiot and or kid is probably very spoiled, doesn’t min or do what he isn’t interested in doing and tells you what to do instead of the other way around. Parents like you at exactly why kids are brats today BC you let them decide what they want to do. Come on, grow a set of made and be a parent and send or kid to school to learn all the subjects, not just what peeks his interest. Also unless you have a masters degree in childhood education then you have not been trained and do not have the proper skills to be your child’s primary teacher-why do you think colleges have degree programs for elementary Ed? Duh BC u need to learn how to do the shit or pretending to do!

          7. risskia Avatar
            risskia

            Wow, someone has made a LOT of assumptions. Google self-guided learning. Turns out that bright kids do this very well. My child has to take a test at the end of every year to show that I’m keeping up up to grade level. FYI, he’s 8 and has reading comprehension on a 7th grade level. He’s doing 5th grade math. He’s got a clear understanding of the scientific method. He can play the piano (but that’s not his talent, for sure.) He knows how to use the computers in the public library to find research material on his own. He knows how to put together a simple, but healthy meal. He can operate an oven safely. He knows how to do laundry. He says “please” and “thank you,” and minds very well, thank you very much. What he DOESN’T do is memorize facts to spew them onto a standardized test. And, yeah, I actually have certification in education, specialiing in special education. My parents are both retired H.S. teachers. I think we’ll be fine, darlin’.

          8. risskia Avatar
            risskia

            Also, since you picked out my typo to mock, let me help you a bit:
            “you’re an idiot”
            “your kid is”
            “doesn’t mind”
            …grow a set of WHAT?
            “send your kid”
            “piques his interest”
            Also, most of your sentences were run on sentences. If my son wrote a paper for me the way you wrote this insult to me, I’d make him rewrite it. In other words, darlin’, you don’t have the writing skills of my 8 year old child.

          9. Buffettgirl Avatar
            Buffettgirl

            Do you realize how presumptuous you are? I would have LOVED the chance to be home schooled, to work and learn at my own pace. I have an IQ that tests in the high 160’s. I promise you, I was bored out of my mind before the end of the first week of school starting in kindergarten. It never took me longer than three weeks to read all of the books required for the year and before I was ten I had completed high school chemistry. To assume, like an ass, that Risskia’s child is an uncontrollable brat because he’s intelligent and she lets him take the lead in no way is an indication that it is ALL he is taught. You have misguided anger issues. You should look into that. Quickly, before we read about you on here after you’ve caused irreparable harm to a child with your misplaced rage.

      2. Skye Belle Matilda Brand Avatar
        Skye Belle Matilda Brand

        I suspect the system for homeschooling here may be a bit more controlled than over there. There’s an entire network set up to ensure each child is involved in group activities on a regular basis & the parents have access to a really broad range of resources through a centralised library that will post items if required.

        We have some friends who home school their daughter. She is 16 now & absolutely amazing. She has been doing university level subjects for 4 years now & as well as maintaining a grade (based on standardised testing) in the 98th percentile, she also attends ballet school 40 hours a week. She just returned last week from Europe where she was taking part in the Joffrey summer school.

        The reason they chose home schooling was because the local (rural) public schools simply don’t have the resources to allow her to advance as quickly as she was capable of & once she insisted on starting ballet more intensely (at age 9) there was no way to fit in regular school & ballet. I doubt she would have it any other way & she is a really confident & sociable young woman.

        Reply
    2. dumpsterbunnie Avatar
      dumpsterbunnie

      i just dont think its fair that people on here demonize homeschooling there are so many home-schooled kids that are way ahead of public school kids you guys just dont hear about it because they are good parents personally i wasn’t to teach my kids my values not the values of there piers and what is trendy i want a strong child who knows who they are and what there values and boundaries are before i kick them out into the world and im definitely not a fundamental

      Reply
  7. bob labla Avatar
    bob labla

    I just read and watched some info on this absolutely disturbing situation. The pictures that I saw bothered me tremendously, she had that emaciated too small for her age look that you see in neglected kids. Anyone else see that?

    Reply
    1. Benighted Avatar
      Benighted

      It wasn’t so much that I noticed (my 6 year old is small for her age so maybe I’m just used to it) but the look on her face. There don’t seem to be many pictures in the first place and in all the ones I’ve seen she never really has a proper smile on her face, just a little half smile that never seems to reach her eyes. In the photo that accompanies this article she looks downright harried. It’s like she has the face of an old lady. I may be reading more into the photos than is really htere, of course, but when I look at photos of my and my friends’ kids there are big smiles, laughs, joy on their faces… not so on Erica Parsons’.

      Reply
      1. Muggle Avatar
        Muggle

        I keep hearing that she might have been special needs, but never what those special needs were. A lot of fundamentalist families (who “homeschool” and practice harsh physical punishment as prescribed by their insane religious beliefs) will deliberately underfeed their children, girls in particular, to keep them small and delay puberty. It’s easy to restrain and beat a child who’s too small to fight back, after all.

        I’m almost positive that the Parsons are fundamentalists, though I could just be making assumptions based on the homeschooling.

        Reply
        1. Benighted Avatar
          Benighted

          I haven’t heard any explanation of those “special needs” either, which is odd, usually when a special needs child is missing their condition is plastered all over the news.

          Reply
          1. Muggle Avatar
            Muggle

            I bet that’s another lie Casey and Sandy have cooked up. They’ll say she’s special needs when at most she has ADHD.

            Or possibly some type of mild autism or a learning disability, not that they’d know for sure because they “homeschooled” her and homeschools aren’t known for their early intervention and classes for special-needs students.

            If you’ve ever read stories of feral children like Genie, their parents will claim that they locked the child up, starved her, etc. because she was supposedly “retarded.” And then the people teaching the child to talk and behave, etc. have no earthly idea whether or not she’s truly special needs. I bet that’s what’s going on here.

        2. dumpsterbunnie Avatar
          dumpsterbunnie

          im not sure that the comment about fundamentalist was true those people who underfeed there kids do it cause there assholes i new a lot of those fundamentalist kids and they were the work horses of the family there is no reason to keep a worker small they want big strapping kids those asshats homeschooled her as a cover for abuse

          Reply
          1. Muggle Avatar
            Muggle

            Of course not all fundamentalists are the same, but of course the ‘workhorse’ kids are going to be well-fed. And of course some of those fundamentalists have more kids than they can afford to feed…

            But looking at the Parsons’ online presence, it seems like they might be fundamentalists.

      2. Jenny R. Avatar
        Jenny R.

        Same here! She has what I call “dead eyes”, something no child or innocent should have. I’ve been reading through the archives of this site (still got more to go) and I’ve noticed something… In the stories in which a child is taken from a safe place into a bad one…
        Before the change, they look normal, after the change, the after photos have those dead eyes…. 😦

        Reply
  8. Benighted Avatar
    Benighted

    Something just occurred to me about something I’ve read in several different articles. The drywall with the “red stains” was taken from a closet. I wonder if the poor girl was being kept in the closet, or if the closet was being used as a punishment?

    Reply
  9. rohl Avatar
    rohl

    How does a child slip through the cracks so far that it takes an argument between her “brother and parents” to report her missing (as revenge!)? I’m sure the poor angel is gone without remembering a bedtime story told or a cup of hot chocolate on a cold day (it seems she knew no love at all)! My heart is breaking, but I won’t hold my breath waiting to see justice doled out to these “caregivers.”
    >(

    Reply
    1. Muggle Avatar
      Muggle

      This is what amazes me. I grew up in North Carolina. I knew kids who had been adopted, and some who had been homeschooled. If one of those kids had just disappeared off the face of the earth, someone would have loads of explaining to do. The public schools in my county kept track of homeschooled kids, there were those few who would show up in the yearbook even though they only took like one class at the public school (if that). How the fuck did Rowan County not notice that one student had just stopped receiving any education at all? I’m pretty sure North Carolina requires test scores from all students, I’m amazed the state didn’t notice or step in.

      Seriously, NC needs to get its shit together. This should never have happened and if it were fucking CIVILIZED Erica might have been saved and we’d know she was alive and safe. Or, at the very least, her “parents” would have already faced justice.

      Reply
  10. Muggle Avatar
    Muggle

    http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=220017

    I caught up to page 34. I know it’s a webforum, but there’s loads and loads of helpful news links and up-to-date information. There’s e-mails between Erica’s two mothers, footage from a neighbor’s surveillance camera, and now Sandy and Casey are facing a “gamut of possible charges.” Which includes homicide… in which case their attorney will not be able to represent them.

    They’ve been lying left and right about every possible thing, it seems as though they may finally get caught. But it also seems that Erica really is dead. 😦

    Reply

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