Florida Man Previously Convicted of Murder Now Charged With Killing Woman With Screwdriver

A Florida man who was recently released from prison after serving time for the killing of a teenager is now charged with the murder of a woman whose body was found over the weekend near Fort Lauderdale.

Eric Pierson was charged on Saturday with first-degree murder in the killing of 33-year-old Erika Verdecia, per the Associated Press. Verdecia had been missing for about three weeks prior to the discovery of her body in a canal.

In September of last year, Pierson was released from prison after serving 27 years of a 40-year sentence over the murder of 17-year-old Kristina Whitaker. And in 1985, Pierson broke into a residence and slit a woman’s throat, a crime for which he also served four years before being paroled.

In a statement shared Sunday, the Sunrise Police Department in Florida stated that Verdecia had initially been reported missing on Sept. 24 of this year. Pierson, police said, “has confessed” to Verdecia’s murder. According to police, he stabbed her four times with a screwdriver.

“Although this tragic news does not bring Erika back to her family and friends, we hope that it can bring some closure to her loved ones,” a police rep added.

Per Sunday’s AP report, police saw Pierson and Verdecia together during a traffic stop on Sept. 25, which is notably the same day Pierson later told authorities he murdered her. While Pierson initially claimed to police earlier this month that Verdecia had left on her own, surveillance footage disputed his account. Later, a search resulted in the discovery of blood inside Pierson’s truck, followed shortly after by the discovery of the body.

Complex has reached out to the Sunrise Police Department for additional comment and will update this post accordingly.