The parents of Lacey Fletcher have been sentenced to 20 years behind bars after leaving their daughter to die rotting on a couch.
Sheila and Clay Fletcher were arrested and indicted on murder charges after the gruesome discovery in their home in Slaughter, Louisiana, in January 2022.
The 36-year-old weighed just 96 pounds when she was found dead on the maggot-infested couch, with ‘ulcers on her underside and fecal matter crushed into her face, chest and abdomen.’
Her parents claimed that though Lacey suffered from severe Asperger’s syndrome and social anxiety, she was of ‘sound mind’ and the sofa was where she felt comfortable and safe.
But District Judge Kathryn Jones at the 20th District Courthouse in Clinton on Wednesday rejected their claims, saying that they had allowed Lacey to die through their neglect.
In court on Wednesday, the couple, seen here in prison jumpsuits, were sentenced to 20 years for her death, with a judge saying they had allowed their daughter to die of neglect
Sheila and Clay Fletcher were arrested and indicted on murder charges after the discovery in their home in Slaughter, Louisiana , in January 2022
The Fletchers had previously pleaded no contest to manslaughter earlier this year for their parts in her death
The Fletchers had previously pleaded no contest to manslaughter earlier this year for their parts in her death.
Judge Jones imposed a 40-year sentence, but suspended 20 years of their prison stints, and ordered them to serve five years of probation if they are released.
The judge said: ‘Clay and Sheila Fletcher continually chose the path of least resistance when it came to the care of their daughter.
‘We can argue about whether or not this process took three months, six months or three years. I don’t really care.
‘This was a tragedy. The truth is that Lacey laid on a couch and slowly died because she got no medical or mental health care.’
Images captured of the couch that Lacey had been fused to show the condition it was found in, with experts summarizing that she didn’t move for 12 years.
She was found dead sunken into a waste-filled hole in the couch in January of 2022, weighing just 96 pounds.
On Wednesday, defense attorneys said that due to Lacey’s age she was fully competent and was old enough to make her own decisions.
Steven Moore, their attorney, said: ‘They loved her to death, and that is the true statement of what the Fletchers are.’
The Fletchers had spent nearly 18 months denying second-degree murder after being indicted twice by a grand jury in Clinton, Louisiana.
Due to conflicting language, those charges were tossed out and reduced to manslaughter which they pleaded no contest to.
Documents obtained by DailyMail.com previously revealed that Lacey had bone visible from severe wounds and sores when found.
A high school photo of Lacey Ellen Fletcher, 36, taken when she was 16. The coroner believes she was left on the couch for 12 years
Images captured of the couch that Lacey had been fused to show the condition it was found in
She was found dead sunken into a waste-filled hole in the couch in January of 2022, weighing just 96 pounds
The documents also said that she was infested with maggots while she was still alive. This infestation included the area around her genitals.
Lacey had attended Brownsville Baptist Academy where she featured in the volleyball team, but was homeschooled after 9th grade.
At the age of 14, her mother took her to clinical psychologist Donald Hoppe saying she suffered ‘severe social anxiety’.
Sheila shared information from another psychologist that ‘Lacey had a below average IQ and suffered from autism,’ said Dr Donald Hoppe.
He saw her for 12 sessions between 2000 and 2002. In 2010 both Fletchers returned ‘and told me Lacey was refusing to leave the house and in fact had begun to refuse to leave the living room of the house’.
Neighbors of the Fletchers told DailyMail.com in 2022 that they had not seen Lacey for 15 years.
Robert Blades, 61, said she was ‘just a normal fun kid’ before vanishing from view. Blades said he asked Clay about his daughter’s whereabouts in 2017.
An undated photo of Clay and Sheila Fletcher standing in front of their Christmas tree
Lacey attended the former Brownsville Baptist Academy in Louisiana where she was featured (top left) on the school volleyball team
Former classmates said Lacey began to retreat into isolation in her teens as her autism accelerated and she was home schooled after 9th grade
Neighbors revealed Lacey (center) appeared as ‘a fun, normal kid’ before becoming more isolated from her neighborhood friends from the age of about 14
‘I actually thought maybe she got married and moved on,’ he said. ‘I said, how is Lacey? How’s she doing? Has she moved off? Went to college or what?
‘He replied, oh no, she’s still here. She’s fine. And then changed the subject. And that’s it. He didn’t explain why we hadn’t seen her at all.’
Forensic pathologist Dana Troxclair’s autopsy report described her body covered in pressure ulcers and suffering chronic bone infection with ‘polarizable fibers (most likely fibers from the couch) and maggots embedded in the exposed surface of the bones’.
Dr Troxclair wrote: ‘Maggots were present in the perineum and areas of the decubitus ulcers.
‘If the maggots would have appeared after death, there would have been at least a minimal presence of eggs or larvae in the region of the eyes, ears, or nose.
‘These areas, together with any wounds, are the preferred spots for colonization.
Clay and Sheila Fletcher were pictured in May 2022 when they were released on bail
‘There was no evidence of decomposition at the time of the autopsy; therefore, it was determined that the maggots were present prior to death.’
The forensic pathologist headed one of her findings ‘severe chronic neglect’ and said Lacey suffered from ‘chronic protein malnutrition and acute starvation’.
Dr Troxclair said there was ‘fecal matter, both crusted and fresh, present on the body including face, chest, abdomen, perineum, and extremities’.
The medical expert described Lacey as ‘extremely dirty, matted/knotted hair with feces and maggots.
There were ‘insect bites to her left ear, face and arms’ that happened before she died.
He said her hair was ‘extremely matted into a 24 x 18-inch knotted ball… and cannot be straightened. ‘The scalp is red and crusted,’ the expert wrote.
‘The ears are extremely dirty with crusted feces and small abrasions/lesions on the left ear due to antemortem insect activity.
‘The fingernails are natural, long and extremely dirty with underlying fecal material… the toenails are natural, long, curled under and extremely dirty with underlying fecal material.
Parents Sheila and Clay Fletcher were arrested and indicted on murder charges after the discovery in their home in Slaughter, Louisiana, in January 2022,
A photo of the two-story home located on Tom Drive in Slaughter where Lacey lived with her parents
Cause of death was sepsis due to a chain reaction of conditions – the bone infection osteomyelitis which was due to the ulcers.
These were ‘as a result of poor hygiene, prolonged immobility and malnutrition as a result of severe chronic neglect of a special needs individual’, wrote Dr Troxclair.
Police were called to the Fletchers’ home on January 3, 2022 by Sheila Fletcher who told the East Feliciana Parish 911 service that Lacey had stopped breathing.
The mother said her daughter had been sick ‘but it was a long story,’ according to the 911 report which was filed into court.
When Slaughter Police officer Daulton Corban arrived, Clay was performing ‘ineffective chest compressions,’ on Lacey, who was ‘sideways with her back pressed against the couch,’ said an East Feliciana Sheriff’s Department incident report obtained by DailyMail.com.
Lacey was wearing just a t-shirt and ‘it appeared that there was excessive urine and feces underneath the victim and on the floor,’ added the report written by Lt Kevin Garig.
It continued: ‘The wounds in the buttocks and head area were so severe that bone was visible. Based on a hole created in the couch cushion where she sat, it appeared that the victim had been.. in the position for quite some time.’
