SLAUGHTER, La. — The parents of a non-verbal autistic woman were sentenced to 40 years in prison with 20 years of the sentence suspended following a manslaughter conviction after their daughter’s body was found in inhuman conditions and had “melted” into the couch.
According to our partners at WBRZ a judge handed down Clay and Sheila Fletcher’s sentence on Wednesday.
In 2022, 36-year-old Lacey Fletcher was found dead at her parent’s home in Slaughter Louisiana. East Feliciana Parish Coroner Dr. Ewell Bickham said an autopsy revealed that Lacey died of starvation and sepsis after being neglected by her parents for nearly 20 years.
The coroner described the condition she was found in as "gruesome" saying she was covered in her feces and urine and that the couch had “melted” from her being immobile in her feces for years.
"I've dealt with every type of death there natural, accidental, suicide, homicide, every kind there is. This was the most gruesome, unnatural death that I've seen, and it's affected me," Dr. Bickham told WBRZ. "If someone is having issues, if someone has mental health issues, there are resources out there and social programs."
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