SALISBURY — Casey Parsons has been released from federal prison after serving eight years for fraud. Parsons will now begin to serve a life sentence for her role in the murder of her adoptive daughter, Erica Parsons.

Casey Parsons was originally sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for fraud after her and her husband, Sandy Parson, still received government-funded adoption benefits, such as Medicaid, Social Security and Food and Nutrition Services, even after Erica Parsons was no longer living with them.

According to Federal Bureau of Prisons records, Casey Parsons was released on Saturday from federal custody. However, she will remain incarcerated, as she will be transferred to an unreleased North Carolina prison to serve her life sentence for murder. The North Carolina Department of Adult Correction does not yet have Casey Parsons listed as a state prisoner.

Casey Parsons pleaded guilty to first-degree murder six years after Erica Parsons was reported missing by her adoptive brother. During that trial, Casey Parsons said in statements that they poured bleach on Erica Parsons after her death so she would not smell. Erica Parsons was set aside in the tote while the family attended a Christmas party and at some point later she was driven to South Carolina where Casey Parsons and her husband, Sandy Parsons, buried Erica Parsons in a shallow grave.

Sandy Parsons, who is currently listed as a prisoner in the Alexander Correctional Institution serving a sentence for second-degree murder, told Rowan County investigators that Erica Parsons was buried in a grave in South Carolina and led them to her. A medical examiner said that Erica Parsons had suffered from multiple broken bones of varying degrees of healing. The cause of death was ruled homicidal violence, but the actual means could not be determined.

Sandy Parsons has received two infractions while in the North Carolina prison system, one for possession of a weapon and one for possession of non-threatening contraband. According to NCDAC records, his expected release date is September 25, of 2057. Casey Parsons will be incarcerated for life without the chance of parole.