Body of woman with locked-in syndrome found fused to parents' couch with faeces

dailystar.co.uk:

parent's couch. Lacey Ellen Fletcher, 36, was discovered dead in the living room after her family phoned emergency services to say she wasn't breathing on January 3.

Her body was sitting upright and riddled with urine, faeces and insect bites when police stormed into the home located in Slaughter, Louisiana.

It is believed that she sat lifeless for a day or two before she was found dead with bedsores, with markings that tailed down to the bone.Parents Sheila, 64, and Clay Fletcher, 65, were unable to explain the grisly discovery and are now facing charges of second-degree murder.Lacey suffered from the rare neurological condition known as locked-in syndrome, in which patients are unable to move any part of their body except for their eyes.Despite her serious condition, she had allegedly not been seen by a doctor for 20 years, reports Daily Mail.According to District Attorney Sam D'Aquilla, Lacey told her parents she did not want to leave the house about 10 years ago.The Fletchers, who were Lacey's primary caretakers, claim they were able to communicate with her and she "never complained". "We don't treat animals or neglect our animals in that way," Mr D'Aquilla said. "If you have an animal in that condition you take them to the vet."The family's ranch-style home was otherwise clean and tidy, authorities said, although they were met with a powerful smell when they entered."The scene was sickening," East Feliciana Parish Coroner Dr.

Ewell Dewitt Bickham III commented."I've seen some horrible things in my life but nothing like this... It's unconscionable, something you make horror movies about."He ruled Lacey's death a homicide and cause of death as medical neglect.Her parents are well-respected members of the Slaughter.