One of the most inconceivably difficult stories of the year

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This is a difficult and disturbing read, I don't recommend it for sensitive readers:

Parents of woman found ‘melted’ to couch re-indicted on murder charges

By Yaron Steinbuch

June 27, 2023 9:53am  Updated

A Louisiana couple whose dead daughter’s body was found “melted” into the family couch — where she’d been sitting for up to 12 years — have been re-indicted on murder counts after a judge tossed the charges over technical matters.

Sheila and Clay Fletcher were initially arrested in January 2022 after their 36-year-old daughter, Lacey Ellen Fletcher, was discovered dead on the home’s ratty couch covered in urine and feces and weighing less than 100 pounds.

The couple was later indicted on charges of second-degree murder in the shocking case of “acute medical neglect,” but District Judge Kathryn “Betsy” Jones last month tossed the raps after the suspects’ lawyers objected to what they called defective language in the charging affidavits, the Advocate reported.

Sheila and Clay Fletcher, the parents of a 36-year-old woman found “fused” to a couch in their Louisiana home last year, have been re-indicted on murder charges after a judge dismissed the counts over a technicality.

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The Fletchers, who have been out on bail, were rearrested June 19 and again indicted by a grand jury on murder charges, District Attorney Sam D’Aquilla told the news outlet.

“We will ensure there is justice for Lacey and the public knows that caregivers will be charged for neglecting or abusing a person in their care,” the prosecutor said in a statement.

The suspects’ lead lawyer, Steven Moore, earlier told the judge that the DA’s office presented indictment papers that contained six differences from the ones filed in the official record, according to the Advocate.

The body of Lacey Fletcher was found “fused” to this feces- and urine-soaked couch.

East Feliciana Parish Coroner's

D’Aquilla also told WAFB that the defense team raised two other reasons to quash the indictment — no specific intent and no signing by the foreperson.

The judge reportedly denied those two. 

The DA is believed to have tweaked the indictments by removing language from state law about cruelty to the infirm, which is not an inclusive charge to second-degree murder.

When Lacey was found in her family’s Slaughter home, she was stuck inside a waste-filled crater in the couch — with the local medical examiner describing her as having “melted” into the piece of furniture.

She was covered in maggots and sores, had ulcers on her underside and fecal matter on her face, chest and abdomen, officials said.

Lacey Ellen Fletcher was discovered dead on the home’s couch covered in urine and feces and weighing less than 100 pounds.

Handout

Her parents have maintained their innocence, claiming Lacey was “of sound mind” and refused to leave the living room, where they said they brought her meals and set up a potty.

Authorities said the woman was diagnosed with social anxiety and had a history of severe Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism spectrum disorder, which leaves people with maladjusted social skills.

Lacey may have sat in her own filth for about 12 years, the coroner said.

She weighed a skeletal 96 pounds and also tested positive for COVID-19 after she was found.

She also reportedly suffered from locked-in syndrome, a rare neurological disorder characterized by complete paralysis of voluntary muscles, except for the eyes.

Her parents, who are out on bond, are expected to be tried later this year.

Surely, there was some way to get this girl help! What a disturbing story!