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A single mother-of-one from Florida named Erika Verdecia, 33, went missing on September 24, 2021. Her concerned family filed a missing person's report four days later. Three weeks after her disappearance, Erika's body was recovered from a Davie canal near Fort Lauderdale. She was stabbed to death by a screwdriver.
An already convicted murderer, Eric Pierson, who was released from prison on parole about a year ago, was arrested in connection with Erika's disappearance and murder. Pierson confessed and pleaded guilty to the murder. Sources state that he is currently serving his life sentence at the Okeechobee Correctional Institution in Florida.
Evil Lives Here: Shadows of Death is slated to revisit Erika Verdecia's murder by a killer on the loose in its upcoming episode titled Free to Kill Again, which airs on ID this Sunday, October 16, 2022, at 9 pm ET. The synopsis of the 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."
Eric Pierson was out on parole at the time of Erika Verdecia's murder
Erika Verdecia's mother, Carmen Verdecia, set out to find her missing daughter after being unable to get in touch with her for days. She spoke to her daughter's friends when she learned that one of them last saw Erika around the time of her disappearance with a "grimy" looking man named Eric Pierson.
Later, Carmen discovered that Eric had an extensive criminal background. He had served time in prison twice for both the second-degree murder of 17-year-old Kristina Whitaker in Davie in 1993 and an attempted first-degree murder in 1985. Pierson was released from prison on probation in 2020 after only serving 26 years of his 40-year sentence for Whitaker’s killing, and a year later, he murdered Erika.
According to official sources, her family reported that Erika and Eric were seen in a car together during a routine traffic stop on the morning of September 25, a day after she allegedly went missing. Reports further stated that the single mother was in the vehicle's passenger seat and showed no indication of concern.
Eric was questioned by detectives on October 4 and claimed that he was unaware of Erika's situation. He said that they momentarily stopped refilling the gas and that Erika left, and that was the last time he ever saw her. However, when detectives discovered security footage of them stopping at the gas station before the police stopped them, they realized that he was lying about that day.
Authorities interrogated him multiple times after finding discrepancies in Pierson's account of his time spent with the victim. Moreover, his girlfriend reportedly contacted investigators to inform them of Pierson's unsettling statements concerning the gathering of rocks and other debris in the canal behind her house. She claimed that he would stare at the canal, saying:
"Damn that b**ch stinks. If they don’t find a body, they don’t have a case."
Eric Pierson pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of Erika Verdecia and was sentenced to life
The body was retrieved from the canal, which was ultimately identified as Verdecia's. Eric was interrogated after the discovery when he confessed to killing Erika and detailed the incident. He said that he stabbed her in self-defense, twice in the neck and once in each eye. Moreover, the victim's blood was discovered in the backseat of his truck. Eric was charged with the first-degree murder of Erika Verdecia.
On October 25, 2021, Eric Pierson entered a guilty plea to first-degree murder and was given a life sentence. He is currently serving his lengthy sentence at the Okeechobee Correctional Institution in Okeechobee County, Florida.
