Additional distressing information has surfaced regarding the last moments of the woman discovered “fused with a couch” following her parents’ admission of guilt to manslaughter.
Lacey Fletcher passed away at 36 years old in January 2022, a case that stunned the world as she was discovered emaciated and “bonded” to a couch where she had remained for an extended period.
At 36 years old, Lacey Fletcher, who reportedly had autism, weighed only 100 pounds (45kg) at the time of her passing. Her parents asserted that she declined to eat when they attempted to feed her, resulting in her inability to leave the couch and ultimately succumbing to death.
Nevertheless, the coroner who examined her demise disclosed that he did not observe any food accessible to Lacey. Tragically, he uncovered evidence suggesting she had attempted to consume the foam from the couch cushions in a desperate bid to survive.
Lacey Fletcher’s horrifying death still has an effect on the coroner that examined her. Credit: Handout
Dr. Ewing Bickham arrived at the distressing site following a call from Clay and Sheila Fletcher, who reported to 911 that their daughter Lacey was unresponsive. Dr. Bickham, the coroner, promptly responded to the scene.
In an interview with NewsNation, Dr. Ewing Bickham described the incident as the most harrowing death he had encountered in his entire career. He revealed that the emotional toll was immense, recounting how he couldn’t hold back tears and couldn’t bring himself to eat for a week following his examination of Lacey. Reflecting on the experience, he admitted, “It still haunts me to this day.”
Lacey was discovered in a state of severe emaciation, bearing pressure sores, some of which were so grievous that her bones were exposed. Additionally, her body was found infested with maggots, indicating she had been left in her own waste for an extended period before her demise.
When questioned about the presence of any food accessible to Lacey, who was immobilized on the couch due to the severe consequences of prolonged neglect on her health, Dr. Bickham disclosed that the only item he observed nearby was a small packet of candies.
“I only spotted a small bag of hard candy, and that’s all there was. That’s likely the only sustenance she had,” he disclosed.
Sadly, he believes that Lacey resorted to consuming the foam from the cushions around her to endure and alleviate her hunger, stating, “I’ll spare you the graphic details, but she had yellow foam from the sofa and feces in her stomach. Draw your own conclusions from that.”
For the past 18 months, both of her parents, aged 66, faced arrest and indictment on second-degree murder charges. However, this week, they changed their plea from not guilty to guilty for lesser charges of manslaughter.
Lacey’s cause of death was determined to be sepsis arising from “extreme chronic neglect.”
Despite the tragic end to her life, Lacey seemed to have been a joyful young girl. Photographs from her earlier years depict her smiling and posing with her school volleyball team, of which she was a member before being homeschooled starting from the ninth grade.
Robert Blades, 61, a neighbor of the family, recalled that Lacey was “just a regular, fun-loving kid” before she disappeared from view 15 years ago. Her parents asserted that she had developed “anxiety” and sought help from psychologists, as reported by the Daily Mail.
While the attorneys representing the parents argued that they never intended for Lacey’s condition to deteriorate to such an extent and highlighted their struggles with her medical conditions, Dr. Bickham provided a grim account of the horrific conditions in which he found her.
He elaborated, stating: “Upon entering the house, there was a pervasive odor reminiscent of a sewer or septic tank, coupled with the unmistakable scent of death. It was a smell I had never encountered before in my life.”
“I’ve encountered decomposed bodies. I’ve dealt with various forms of death, degradation, and the like throughout my career, but I’ve never experienced anything like this,” he emphasized.
Parents of Lacey Fletcher, woman found ‘melted’ to couch, plead no contest to manslaughter https://t.co/HQr7YiYrLC pic.twitter.com/nbNMh84Jen
— New York Post (@nypost) February 7, 2024
He added, “I’ve never encountered a homicide of this nature. Witnessing an individual, a human being, subjected to such torture and left to perish while still alive is something I’ve never seen before.”
“I’ve never witnessed anything like it in my life. I’ve encountered decomposed bodies of individuals who drowned and were discovered a week later,” he remarked.
“That’s one thing when bodies decompose over time. Lacey, however, did not decompose. She decayed within her own body, confined to that squalid environment, trapped within the confines of that couch,” he explained.
