Parents of woman found ‘melted’ to sofa ‘loved daughter to death

 Parents of woman found ‘melted’ to sofa ‘loved daughter to death’

by Jessica Kwong

The parents of a woman who was found fused to a couch and caked in her own feces claim they ‘loved her to death’.

Sheila and Clay Fletcher pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of manslaughter in the death of their daughter Lacey Fletcher, 36, who was discovered dead on their sofa in January 2022.

The couple’s lawyer in a Louisiana courthouse said they did not intend to hurt their daughter.

‘They were negligent, yes. It is clear they were negligent. They loved her to death – that is the true statement with the Fletchers,’ said attorney Steven Moore on Monday. ‘They loved their daughter to death.’

Lacey Ellen Fletcher was found by authorities dead on a couch in her home on January 3, 2022 

Lacey Ellen Fletcher was found by authorities dead on a couch in her home on January 3, 2022Handout

Moore continued: ‘When you look back at it, you wonder, why? How could this happen? It did happen.

‘But at no point did Sheila or Clay Fletcher ever have a single intent to harm their daughter. They loved their daughter to a fault.’The couple ‘are completely remorseful’, Moore added.

‘Their life revolved around Lacey Fletcher… They lived for Lacey Fletcher.’Lacey Fletcher's body was sitting in feces and urineThey are good people who have never been in trouble in their life. They are great members of this community, people came to support them, because that is not who they are.’

While some neighbors appeared in the courtroom to support the couple, prosecutors brought victim advocate Dana Lovett, who said that ‘nobody should have to have lived like (Lacey) did all these years’.

Mugshots of Sheila Fletcher, 64, and Clay Fletcher (pictured), 65, sent in from the East Feliciana Parish Sheriff's Department on May 2, 2022. The parents of severely autistic Lacey Ellen Fletcher who died 'fused' to a sofa by her own excrement face life in jail after a grand jury indicted them on second-degree murder charges on Monday. Sheila, 64, and Clay Fletcher, 65, did not attend the courthouse in Clinton, Louisiana, where District Attorney Sam D'Aquilla demanded the charge, which would mean mandatory life if convicted. Lacey's emaciated body was discovered partially naked, sitting upright and partly submerged in a hole in a couch covered from head to toe in urine, liquid feces, maggots and insect bites at her parents' otherwise neat single family home in Slaughter on January 3.

Caption: Mugshots of Sheila Fletcher, 64, and Clay Fletcher (pictured), 65, sent in from the East Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Department on May 2, 2022.The parents of severely autistic Lacey Ellen Fletcher who died ‘fused’ to a sofa by her own excrement face life in jail after a grand jury indicted them on second-degree murder chargeson Monday. Sheila, 64, and Clay Fletcher, 65, did not attend the courthouse in Clinton, Louisiana, where District Attorney Sam D’Aquilla demanded the charge, which would mean mandatory life if convicted. Lacey’s emaciated body was discovered partially naked, sitting upright and partly submerged in a hole in a couch covered from head to toe in urine, liquid feces, maggots and insect bites at her parents’ otherwise neat single family home in Slaughter on January 3. Provider: East Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Department

‘They had so many resources at their fingertips, especially Mrs Fletcher,’ said Lovett. ‘Why she didn’t utilize those resources when she was actually almost hand in hand with people that could help is beyond me.’

The couple initially faced second-degree murder charges before they were reduced.

Prosecutors are seeking a maximum sentence of 40 years for the parents. Their sentencing hearing has been scheduled for March 20.