Erika Verdecia's Confessed Murderer Eric Pierson Had Killed Before, But Released Early
SUNRISE (CBSMiami) -- A Broward judge ordered convicted murderer Eric Pierson behind bars with no bond on Monday after his weekend arrest for the murder of 33-year-old Erika Verdecia, whose body was found in a canal after being missing for three weeks.
Pierson has confessed to Sunrise Police that he killed Verdecia, a single mom. The no bond decision came as no surprise, but Verdecia's family wants to know why he had not been kept behind bars to serve out prior convictions.
"There should be no bond ever after he has committed second-degree murder," Verdecia's mother Carmen said.
Pierson was released September 2020, serving 27 years of a 40-year sentence for the 1993 beating and strangulation death of 17-year-old Kristina Whitaker in Davie.
"When we talked to her sister she said what? They didn't know," Carmen Verdecia recalled.
Whitaker's mother helped to push for longer prison sentences. The state changed the laws so that convicts would have to serve 85% of their prison sentence, but that change could not be applied retroactively for Pierson.
"They're saying he had good behavior, and the prisons are crowded, so why are you letting a killer out and not someone else?" Verdecia's mother asked.
Before the 1993 murder, Pierson served 4 years of an 18-year sentence for first-degree attempted murder, before being paroled.
"A year later he got out, he killed my daughter, a year later that he got out he killed the Davie girl," Carmen Verdecia added.
A statement by the Florida Department of Corrections said Pierson was not released early and instead released at the expiration of his sentence, on September 3, 2020, in compliance with the laws governing gain time and release dates at the time his crime was committed.
Erika Verdecia's body was found near a canal by the residence of Pierson's girlfriend in Davie.
"That's why we're doing all this because people have to know that this can't happen again and there has to be justice for Erika," Carmen Verdecia told CBS4.
Erika Verdecia leaves behind a 6-year-old daughter.
Her family is asking for help and have set up a GoFundMe page.
A vigil is being planned in the coming days.
