WGNO

Parents charged in the murder of daughter released on bond

SLAUGHTER, La. (BRPROUD) — A grand jury indicted the parents of a 36-year-old woman found dead on a couch by authorities on second-degree murder charges.

A bond was set Tuesday afternoon for both parents at $300,000 each and both bonded out in the evening.

On Jan. 3, the Slaughter Police Department responded to a call regarding an unresponsive person on Tom Drive. When officials arrived at the residence, they found the body and immediately contacted the East Feliciana Parish Coroner’s Office.

The coroner’s office said 36-year-old Lacey Fletcher, who had disability issues, was found sitting in a hole in the couch. According to East Feliciana Parish Coroner Dr. Ewell Dewitt Bickham III, upon walking in, the home smelled of fecal material and Fletcher’s body was sitting in feces and urine.

Courtesy of East Feliciana Parish Coroner’s Office

Dr. Bickham said her death stemmed from years of medical neglect and ruled the manner of death as a homicide.

Clay and Sheila Fletcher’s attorney shared the following statement on Wednesday, April 7:

“They don’t want to relive the pain of losing a child through the media. They have been through a lot of heartache over the years. Anyone who had lost a child knows what it’s like.”