The father of Lacey Fletcher, who was found dead and sunken into a maggot-infested couch, has claimed that the sofa she died on was the young woman's 'sanctuary'.
The case of Lacey Fletcher shocked the world after it was revealed that the 36-year-old was found severely malnourished and with open sores so deep her bones were visible, after dying in her parents' home.
The young woman had last been seen over a decade earlier, and had remained within the home, allegedly refusing to leave the couch, where it's believed she may have sat in the same spot for up to 12 years.
The medical examiner who attended the home after Lacey was found dead, said her death was so horrific that it still haunts him to this day, despite having seen hundreds of people who'd died in every possible way.
Lacey's parents, Clay and Sheila Fletcher, were this week jailed after being sentenced to 40 years each, with 20 suspended, after pleading no contest to the manslaughter of their daughter. They will also be on probation for five years following their release.
They had claimed that Lacey had refused to move from the couch due to her struggles with social anxiety and autism, which worsened over time.
Her father, Clay, said at the sentencing hearing on Wednesday, as reported by WBRZ: "Her world closed in on her gradually because of her phobias, fears, and social anxieties.
"The couch was her sanctuary. It was her comfort zone."
Lacey was found dead at her parents' home in Louisiana in January 2022 after they had called 911 to report that she was not responsive.
They had spent 18 months denying a charge of second-degree murder after being indicted twice by a grand jury in Louisiana, for which they had faced the possibility of life in prison without parole if convicted.
The couple later pleaded no contest to the lesser charge of manslaughter, and both cried at the hearing as they acknowledged that there was more that they could have done to help save Lacey's life.
According to reports, at the time of Lacey's death, she had weighed just 96lb and had tested positive for Covid-19.
The young woman was found with half of her body sunken into the couch, which was covered in urine and feces, as well as a maggot infestation which was also in her body through the open sores.
Her cause of death was ruled to be sepsis due to a combination of multiple conditions, including bone infection, extended immobility, extreme malnutrition, and "severe chronic neglect of a special needs individual."
Dr. Ewell Bickham, who was the coroner responsible for examining Lacey's body when she was found, told NewsNation that the scene he was confronted with still "bothers" him to this day.
He revealed: "When I walked in, the house smelled of a stench of, it smelled like a sewer, or septic tank and also a smell of death. I've never smelled that in my life.
"I've dealt with decomposed bodies. I've dealt with all sorts of death, degradation, whatever, never experienced this in all of my career."
The coroner had to choke back tears in the middle of the filmed interview as he admitted: "I've never seen a homicide like this. I have never seen an individual, a human being, literally tortured and allowed to die while she is alive.
"I've never seen that my life. I've seen decomposed bodies of someone that drowns and you find the body a week later.
"That's one thing and they're decomposed. Lacey did not decompose. She rotted in her own body, in that hole in that sewer, in the couch."
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