Court Rejects Eric Parsons Appeal

A midlevel appeals court has rejected the appeal of a volunteer firefighter convicted of killing his wife and children in a house fire nearly five years ago.Eric Parsons was convicted of five counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree arson for setting the fire that killed his wife and four young children on November 5th, 2001.Witnesses said Parsons had threatened to kill his wife, Cheryl, if she ever left him and took their two daughters and two sons, aged one to six.The fire occurred three days after his family moved into an apartment house in the Finger Lakes hamlet of Romulus in western New York.Prosecutors said Parsons drove five miles to an all-night convenience store to summon help as his family was trapped inside the house.A jury convicted Parsons and he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.