The parents of Lacey Ellen Fletcher, a woman with locked-in syndrome, are now facing second-degree murder charges after authorities discovered that the woman might have been neglected for a decade in what authorities call one of the worst cases of neglect.
The parents, Sheila, 64, and Clay Fletcher, 65, said they did not have an explanation for the state their daughter was found. Authorities believed that Lacey had not left home since a decade ago, Mirror reports.
Suspicions of a decade of neglect
When police officers responded to the 911 call, they encountered a gruesome scene and a pungent stench, as per District Attorney Sam D'Aquila.
Lousiana authorities found Lacey sitting upright and fused to a couch at a family home on January 3 after her parents told 911 that their daughter was not breathing. Responders suspect that the daughter had been dead for two days before she was found.
They found her sunken into a hole in the couch. They then suspected that she had been left to sit in one place for an extended period. Lacey was partially naked and was covered with insect bites, urine, and feces. Authorities also noted that her bedsores were so severe that they went down to the bone.
Lacey weighed only 96 pounds and was infected with COVID-19. When the police found her, Lacey crossed her feet under her. She dug deep into the hole she had worn through the upholstery and foam padding, filled with urine, NY Post reports.
There were bugs and rodents where Lacey was, but the home in Slaughter, Louisiana, was tidy.
The parents did not have an explanation for why their daughter was in such a deplorable state.
The daughter suffered from a locked-in syndrome, a rare neurological condition. Patients with such a condition cannot move any part of their bodies except their eyes.
The Fletchers were Lacey's primary caretaker and claimed that they could communicate with her, and she never complained.
East Feliciana Parish Coroner Dr. Ewell Dewitt Bickham III ruled Lacey's death a homicide and the cause of death as medical neglect.
No medical intervention for the past 20 years
According to Daily Mail, people with locked-in syndrome are conscious and can think and reason. They are, however, unable to move or speak. Causes include brain injury, brain stem stroke, tumors, bleeding, or multiple sclerosis. Medical overdose or infection are other causes.
Although there is no cure for the condition, doctors recommend physical therapy, nutritional support, comfort care, and preventing complications from respiratory infections to manage it.
Lacey, however, has not visited a doctor for treatment. D'Aquila said that Lacey went to see a psychiatrist in 1999 or early 2000s. She also developed Asperger's syndrome, a developmental disorder on the autism spectrum.
The couple will face a grand jury due to the case, and medics will be on standby at the hearing due to the graphic nature of the details and the photographs presented to them. A 12-person jury will decide whether the couple will decide on manslaughter, negligent homicide, or second-degree murder charges.
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