Killing of Lacey Fletcher

On January 3, 2022, 911 reported that 66-year-old Sheila Fletcher and her husband, Clay Fletcher, had found her 36-year-old daughter Lacey Ellen Fletcher dead on their couch. It was revealed that for at least 12 years, Lacey Fletcher had been neglected by her parents after becoming unable to leave her house due to a cognitive health decline. It was discovered that after this decline, Sheila and Clay had left their daughter on their couch to suffer in her excrement and allowed bugs to eat at her body, failing to attempt to get her medical care. The killing gained significant media coverage due to the gruesome nature of the crime.

Sheila and Clay Fletcher were charged with murder for Lacey's death. In February 2024, they were given a plea deal for the lesser charge of manslaughter. On March 20, 2024, they were sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Background
Lacey Fletcher was autistic and was reportedly bullied in high school. Her parents, Sheila and Clay Fletcher, later withdrew her from school in favor of homeschooling. Sheila and Clay were known to complain about Lacey, stating that they did not want to be caregivers when they became parents.

When Lacey was 24 years old, a decline in her cognitive health led to her being unable to leave the house. She became confined to the family's leather couch, and instead of seeking medical assistance, Sheila and Clay left Lacey on the couch. She was left unattended for such a time that she was later found dead, covered in her excrement. Bugs and maggots were reportedly eating away at her body, and she had become fused to the leather couch.

Neglect
Following Lacey's cognitive health decline, which led to her inability to leave the house, Sheila and Clay left her on the couch and placed towels next to it so Lacey's feces and urine would be easier for them to clean. The rest of their house was well-cleaned, except for the couch, where Lacey could not move independently. Over time, Lacey's clothes no longer fit her, simply draping off her body. Clay and Sheila would frequently leave for days to go on vacation, leaving her to starve. Over time, her muscles atrophied, and vermin began to eat at her extremities under the couch, leaving mouse droppings and maggots to thrive in the space. There were signs she had been trying to lift herself out of the couch to avoid the pain. Still, due to severe malnourishment and atrophy in her leg muscles, she was unable to. Her body fused into the leather couch cushions as she was covered in urine and feces, as well as maggots living in her hair and inside her. She suffered starvation and bone infections, leading finally to sepsis, which caused her death. She had feces and couch cushioning both under her fingernails and in her stomach contents, showing she had attempted to save herself by eating her surroundings before dying on the couch whilst or shortly after Clay and Sheila vacationed for the holidays. Lacey was found at autopsy to have COVID-19.

Death
On January 3, 2022, Sheila called 911 and stated that she had found Lacey dead on their couch. Emergency services and the coroner arrived at the home and discovered Lacey's dead, partially clothed and malnourished 96-pound (44 kg) body fused into the family's leather couch, with clear signs of neglect. It was determined that Lacey had been dead for one to two days before Sheila had finally decided to call 911. Sheila and Clay lied to the police, saying that Lacey had decided to lie in those conditions for 12 years. Her autopsy ruled her death a homicide. Investigators stated they could not sleep or eat after investigating the killing due to the mental distress that the gruesome nature of the case caused them.

Legal proceedings
In May 2022, Sheila and Clay Fletcher were arrested and charged with the second-degree murder of Lacey. They were later released on bail. A judge dismissed the charge, but Sheila and Clay were re-indicted of murder by a grand jury in June 2023.

On February 6, 2024, Sheila and Clay pleaded no contest in exchange for the charge being reduced to the lesser conviction of manslaughter. If convicted of second-degree murder, they would have faced a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The prosecution stated their intention to seek the maximum manslaughter sentence of 40 years in prison in an attempt to achieve a de facto life sentence for Sheila and Clay. On March 20, 2024, they were sentenced to 20 years, with a consecutive 20-year suspended sentence.