LACEY Fletcher’s parents, who were indicted on second-degree murder charges in the death of their autistic daughter, claimed that she wanted to stay on the couch.
Clay and Shiela Fletcher were arrested on Monday, months after their 36-year-old daughter’s body was found covered in her own filth in a sunken-in crater on the living room couch.
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If convicted, the couple would face life sentences.
The couple spoke to law enforcement after the horrific discovery, claiming that Lacey made the decision to sit on the couch for over a decade.
Lacey, who was diagnosed with “some degree of Asperger’s syndrome” after she started being homeschooled in the 9th grade, would relieve herself on the couch or by using a nearby towel.
Dr. Ewell Dewitt Bickham III, the East Feliciana Parish Coroner stated that Lacey didn’t have a primary doctor, according to her medical records.
“In 2010, the parents went to the doctor’s office without Lacey and asked his advice on what to do,” he told WAFB.
“She is increasingly not wanting to leave the house, not wanting to leave the sofa, just totally recluse.”
According to Bickham, doctors urged the Fletchers to bring Lacey to the hospital, but it never happened and she never received any treatment.
“If you have anyone in your family, the message is if you have anyone in your family with a mental health condition or a disability, get help,” he said.
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Lacey’s body was discovered partially naked and sitting upright in a sunken-in crevice on the living room couch in the family’s home in Slaughter, Louisiana on January 3.
She was covered in urine, liquid feces, maggots and insect bites, according to investigators. Lacey only weighed 96 pounds, had severe ulcers on her body and was positive for Covid-19.
”I have been a sheriff for six years, and I have had a lot of things happen here in East Feliciana Parish, but this type of scene, this is by far the worst, said Sheriff Jeffery Travis.
Travis added that Lacey’s parents could have contacted authorities and had their daughter committed where she could have been helped.
“It’s horrible beyond anything I have had to deal with and I would say even that most people in the US have actually had to handle.”
‘SICKENING’
The Fletchers, who are considered to be respectable pillars of their community, were not at the courthouse Monday and have not been since the news of their daughter’s passing was revealed in the media.
Sheila Fletcher, 64, called 911 and reported that her daughter had stopped breathing. A deputy was sent to the home and spotted the horrible sight.
“The scene was sickening. I’ve seen some horrible things in my life but nothing like this,” said Bickham, adding that Lacey’s bedsores went all the way down to her bone.
“The parents were in the kitchen. They did not have an explanation,” he said. “I couldn’t eat for a week and I cried for a week.”
Lacey’s death became an even bigger mystery when it was revealed that Sheila Fletcher worked for authorities that could’ve helped her daughter.
Fletcher was a police and court clerk in the nearby city of Baker and was recently an assistant to the city prosecutor. She was also on Slaughter’s Board of Alderman but quit on January 24, three weeks after her daughter’s body was discovered.
Clay Fletcher, 65, is an officer of the Baton Rouge Civil War nonprofit, according to business filings.
The organization has a mission “to educate and foster an appreciation for the sacrifices made during the Civil War.”
In a statement through their lawyer, Sheila and Clay Fletcher stated that don’t want to “relieve the pain of losing a child through the media.”
“They have been through a lot of heartaches over the years,” said the Fletchers’ lawyer, Steven Moore. “Anyone who had lost a child knows what it’s like.”
According to District Attorney Sam D’Aquilla, the Fletchers claimed back in 2011 or 2012 that Lacey didn’t want to leave the house and apparently never complained about being home.
The couple said that Lacey would relieve herself on the couch or on a nearby towel and that her mother would routinely learn her daughter’s sores.
It’s unknown when Lacey had last left the couch.
Her parents reportedly said that she developed “some degree of Asperger’s syndrome” after 9th grade when she was being homeschooled.
D’Aquilla pushed for the second-degree murder charges, arguing that Lacey’s parents intended to kill her.
“Negligent homicide is zero to five years, manslaughter is zero to 40 years and second-degree is life in prison. I will ask for second-degree because they didn’t do what they were supposed to do.
“We don’t treat animals or neglect animals in that way. If you have an animal in that condition you have to take them to a vet.
“If you are not capable of providing the care then get help. We want people to know that if you are a caregiver of someone you need to pay attention. It is important for neighbors and the community to look out for each other. We hope this never happens again.”
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