Left: Sheila Fletcher; Right: Clay Fletcher (East Feliciana Parish Jail); Inset: Lacey Fletcher and the couch she died on (Screengrabs via WBRZ).
A Louisiana mom and dad who failed to take care of their disabled adult daughter to the extent that she “melted” into the family’s couch were given a 20-year prison sentence on Wednesday.
Lacey Ellen Fletcher, 36, could not move. Living in nearly complete paralysis with a condition referred to as “locked-in” syndrome, she relied entirely on the care and attention of her parents.
On Jan. 3, 2022, Lacey Fletcher was found dead and sunk into a 1960s-style couch at home in Slaughter — a tiny town of fewer than 100 residents located roughly 40 minutes to the north of Baton Rouge. She was covered in feces, emaciated, her body riven with ulcers. A human-sized hole was worn down into the couch where she sat — and relieved herself — for several years, according to East and West Feliciana Parish District Attorney Sam D’Aquilla.
In early February, in a statement issued by their then-defense attorney after pleading no contest to manslaughter, Sheila Fletcher and Clay Fletcher, both 66, maintained they loved their daughter “to death.”
D’Aquilla expressed disbelief at the claim — reminding Law&Crime at the time that the woman’s skin was falling off her bones — and vowed to pursue justice for the worst case of human neglect most authorities have seen in the Parish.
Prosecutors pushed for the maximum sentence after the plea — which was technically applied during their sentencing hearing. Both parents were sentenced to 40 years in prison with 20 years of their sentences suspended, according to Baton Rouge-based CBS affiliate WAFB.
The couple will also be subject to five years of supervised probation once released from prison.
“You know, you wouldn’t treat your animals like that,” the prosecutor told the TV station on Wednesday. “If you had a horse that was in the stall behind your house, and you go back there and the flesh is just gone from its body, and you can see bones exposed … I mean, you wouldn’t even treat your animal like that.”
Parish Coroner Dr. Ewell Dewitt Bickham III reportedly said the woman had last seen a doctor swo decades ago. She weighed all of 96 pounds at the time of her death and had COVID-19.
“I couldn’t eat for a week, and I cried for a week,” Bickham told Baton Rouge-based ABC affiliate WBRZ in June 2023.
Last summer, the woman’s parents were indicted in their daughter’s murder — for the second time.
“The question on everybody’s mind is, how could they be caretakers living in the house with her and have her get in a condition like that?” D’Aquilla told New Orleans metro area outlet NOLA.com in late April 2022. “It’s cruelty to the infirm. We can’t just let it sit.”
Months passed before the investigation into Lacey Fletcher’s death had been wrapped up. But by the end, the district attorney was intent on pressing charges. A formal indictment on charges of murder in the second degree was issued against her parents in early May 2022.
The first indictment was thrown out by a judge because of errors in the charging documents, but this issue was quickly fixed.
D’Aquilla told WBRZ in 2022 that this case was extremely terrible. The coroner and the sheriff’s office initially investigated this case in January and the condition in which she was found was unbelievable.
The coroner found that Lacey Fletcher's death was partly caused by starvation. Bickham also said that despite her mother finding her dead, she likely died two or three days earlier.
According to authorities, the woman's body slowly wore away the upholstery and cushion, creating a hole which was filled with feces and urine. D’Aquilla’s office also mentioned feces being forced into the victim’s face, chest, and abdomen, as well as severe neglect of her hygiene leading to maggots in her matted, knotted hair.
Bickham previously told WAFB that upon opening the door and entering the house, there was a strong smell of feces and urine. The father showed no emotion, while the mother was weeping with her head between her legs.