Sheila (left) and Clay (right) Fletcher have been indicted a second time in their daughter Lacey Fletcher’s (middle) death (Pictures: East Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Department)
The parents of a woman who died fused to a sofa in her own waste have been re-indicted on murder charges.
Clay and Sheila Fletcher were first arrested and indicted on second-degree murder charges in May of last year in the death of their autistic daughter Lacey Ellen Fletcher, 36.
Last month, a judge tossed the charges against the parents after their lawyers pointed out defective language in charging affidavits.
But on June 19, a grand jury indicted the Fletchers on murder charges a second time, The Advocate reported.
Sheila Fletcher and her husband were first arrested and indicted in May 2022 (Picture: East Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Department)
Clay Fletcher and his wife were re-indicted on June 19 (Picture: East Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Department)
The couple were arrested anew on the charges and bonded out of jail.
‘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,’ stated 20th Judicial District Court District Attorney Sam D’Aquilla.
Lacey was discovered in her family’s home in Slaughter, Louisiana, on January 3, 2022. She was sunken in to the sofa and covered in ulcers, sores, maggots and fecal matter, authorities said.
The coroner’s office said 36-year-old Lacey Fletcher, who had disability issues, was found sitting in a hole in the couch (Picture: East Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Department)
Lacey Fletcher was autistic and had severe Asperger’s (Picture: East Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Department)
Her parents have denied wrongdoing and said that lacey was ‘of sound mind’ and did not want to leave the living. They claim that they brought her food and set up a toilet for her but that their daughter refused to leave the couch.
Lacey suffered from severe Asperger’s, which causes people to have social problems and anxiety.
In a hearing on May 30, District Judge Kathryn Jones dismissed the initial indictments against the Fletchers. The parents had their initial bonds set at $300,000 and were able to get out of East Feliciana Parish Jail.
Lacey Fletcher was found by authorities dead on a couch in her family’s home in Slaughter, Louisiana, on January 3, 2022 (Picture: Google Maps)
The couple’s lawyer Steven Moore argued that D’Aquilla’s office served indictment papers that had six discrepancies from the record with the Clerk of the Court. The differences included references to state laws on cruelty to infirmed individuals, which is not a charge pertaining to second-degree murder.
In response, D’Aquilla said he had planned to take out such references from the new indictments.
A trial for the Fletchers is slated to start this fall.
The parents of autistic woman Lacey Fletcher who was found fused in a couch in her own waste were indicted a second time on murder charges.