Recluse’s parents lashed out for “treating her no better than an ANIMAL” after the body was found covered in “maggots and boils.”

THE parents of Lacey Ellen Fletcher – the trapped woman who was found dead in the living room covered in feces, maggots and boils – said they suffered their own “heartbreak”.

In a statement from their attorney, Sheila and Clay Fletcher said they “don’t want to ease the pain of losing a child to the media.”

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Lacey Fletcher, 36, was found on January 3 in a sunken crater on the couch in the living room at the family home in Slaughter, Louisiana. Your parents could potentially be charged with murder.

When found, the woman had weighed just 96 pounds, was suffering from bacterial infections and was positive for Covid-19.

“They’ve been through a lot of heartbreak over the years,” Fletchers’ attorney Steven Moore said. “Anyone who has lost a child knows what it’s like.”

According to District Attorney Sam D’Aquilla, it’s not known when Fletcher last left the couch. He said her caregivers would let her sit on the couch even while she urinated and went to the bathroom.

“It was so awful,” he said The lawyer.

D’Aquilla plans to ask a grand jury next week to bring second-degree murder charges against the Fletcher, arguing her daughter may have been neglected for years before she was found dead.

In the state, a second-degree murder charge carries a mandatory life sentence without parole.

The woman’s death was confirmed by East Feliciana Parish Medical Examiner, Dr. Ewell Bickham III, ruled a murder and called for an inquest.

“Her cause of death stems from at least a decade of medical neglect,” he told WFAB.

Sheila Fletcher, 64, worked as a police and court clerk and most recently as an assistant to the City of Zachary Attorney’s Office, according to LinkedIn.

She was a member of the city council before resigning three weeks after her daughter’s death on January 24.

Clay Fletcher, according to business records, is an officer with the nonprofit civil war organization Baton Rouge. The organization’s mission is “to educate and encourage an appreciation for the sacrifices made during the Civil War.”

The Fletchers are expected in court on May 2, where a jury will decide whether to bring charges against them.

In addition to second-degree murder, the Fletchers could also be charged with manslaughter, cruelty to the sick or involuntary manslaughter, D’Aquilla told WAFB.

D’Aquilla said it’s unclear if anyone other than Lacey’s parents saw her in the years leading up to her death.

Lacey Fletcher suffered from a disability, her parents said in a Jan. 18 interview with Detectives.

Homeschooled since she was in high school, Lacey had severe social anxiety as a teenager, her parents said.

The Fletchers also stated that their daughter refused to leave the living room couch.

They claim to have brought Lacey her meals and even said she would urinate and defecate in towels or on the floor as she was afraid to leave the couch.

The Fletchers also claim Lacey hasn’t seen a doctor in 10 years because she hasn’t been ill.

D’Aquilla says the couple claimed Lacey “has the sanity to make her own decisions.” Sheila Fletcher even claims to have regularly cleaned her daughter’s wounds.

But D’Aquilla believes there is a message to learn here.

“You lost a daughter. I have — not much — but I have a little sympathy for her,” he said.

“But I think we need to send a message. You must take better care of your people than your animals. I just want people to realize that you have to act in a situation like this.”

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