Evil Lives Here: Shadows of Death - Timeline of events from the night Erika Verdecia was killed

Sunrise resident Erika Verdecia was stabbed to death by a convicted murderer named Eric Pierson, who was out on probation at the time after serving about 27 years of a 40-year jail term for a 1993 second-degree murder. Pierson later confessed to stabbing the 33-year-old victim multiple times with a screwdriver.

ID's Evil Lives Here: Shadows of Death will recount the tale of how a convicted murderer took about a year to make his next kill and how the justice system failed the single mother-of-one and the previous victims. The episode, titled Free to Kill Again, airs on Sunday, October 16, 2022, at 9 pm ET.

The synopsis of the upcoming episode reads:

"Erika Verdecia's family launches its own search when the 33-year-old goes missing in 2021, and the homegrown investigation uncovers a tragic trail of bloodshed 36 years in the making."

Verdecia went missing in September 2021 and was reportedly last spotted the day after her disappearance. Her body was found tied to stones in a canal. The killer was ultimately convicted as he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. Pierson was sentenced to life in prison.

Here's everything to know about the murder case ahead of the episode premiere.

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From the victim going to buy cigarettes to being last spotted on Pierson's truck: A timeline of events from Erika Verdecia's 2021 murder case

Erika Verdecia reportedly went missing on September 24, 2021, when she left her Broward County home to buy cigarettes and failed to return home, making it the last day she was seen by friends and family. Four days later, on September 28, her family members filed a missing person's report, given that her phone was switched off, her social media account was inactive, and friends were unaware of her whereabouts.

An ensuing investigation and a concerned mother's efforts to find her missing daughter revealed that she was last seen with a man named Eric Pierson, who turned out to be a convicted murderer out of prison under supervision. Authorities also claimed that she was last seen on the morning of September 25 in the passenger seat of Pierson's truck when the cops stopped the two.

The police got in touch with Pierson on October 4, interrogating him about his time with Erika Verdecia. He claimed that Verdecia was with him at the time, and that they then went to a gas station, where she left him and asked him to meet at a nearby Wendy's. He further said he went to the venue but she did not turn up. But Pierson was never seen in the Wendy's security footage.

On October 15, detectives interrogated Pierson yet again following an inspection of Verdecia's phone records. Pierson reportedly agreed to authorities checking his truck and forensic examination revealed that there was blood in the vehicle's back seat.

The same night, Pierson's girlfriend called the police to report that he had been behaving suspiciously for a few weeks and had mentioned something about a body and police never finding it. She also claimed that Pierson's truck mats were missing and that she had seen stones and other debris accumulating in the canal behind the mobile home.

On October 16, divers recovered Erika Verdecia's from the canal. Pierson was immediately brought in for questioning when he confessed to murdering Verdecia. According to sources, he admitted to using a screwdriver to stab her on September 25, twice in the neck and once in each eye. He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison on October 25, 2021.

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Erika Verdecia's killer Eric Pierson is currently serving his term at the Okeechobee Correctional Institution in Okeechobee County, Florida.