The three oldest children of Casey and Sandy Parsons, the adoptive parents of missing teen Erica Parsons, spent Tuesday in federal court before a grand jury to testify during a hearing.
Erica, 15, hasn’t been in Rowan County since November 2011. She was reported missing July 30 by her adoptive brother, James “Jamie” Parsons, who was among the siblings who testified before the grand jury, according to a source with knowledge of the case.
Casey and Sandy Parsons have been under scrutiny by law enforcement since Erica was reported missing. The Parsonses say they let her go to Asheville to live with a woman they knew as her biological grandmother, Irene “Nan” Goodman.
Investigators and other relatives have said Goodman does not exist. The couple have since said they now believe Goodman was not who she claimed.
The source said the children, who include oldest son Sandy Jr. and daughter Brooklyn, met before a grand jury on Tuesday for the hearing in Greensboro. The hearing was reportedly an opportunity for the Parsons children to “answer some questions,” the source said.
It is not clear what information the children were there to provide for the grand jury. Casey and Sandy were not there to testify.
“It was a means to make the kids cooperate,” the source said.
Jamie was subpoenaed on Oct. 28 and returned Tuesday to federal court, the source said. Brook and Sandy Jr. were also supposed to go before the grand jury this week.
A grand jury can indict a person — formally charging them with a crime. The Parsonses have not been charged with a crime.
The case is still in the hands of Rowan Sheriff’s Office investigators, who continue to be assisted by the FBI and State Bureau of Investigation.
The couple’s youngest two children, Sadie and Toby, have been placed in the care of Casey’s mother, Shirley Stone. Sandy and Casey have had weekly supervised visits with the children, who were removed from the home in July.