LA - Lacey Fletcher 36, GRAPHIC, disabled, found dead, on couch for years, Jan'22 *Parents arrested*

[trujac]

This will sound gross, but maggots eat poop and dead flesh. They were clearly the only ones in that house trying to clean her up. What does that say about her parents?

It's says a lot when the coroner stated they were blown away by Lacey's condition--never seen anything like it in their entire career before, and were traumatized by her vile condition and death. So many studies have been done showing how people who have normal caring reactions to pain and suffering become desensitize by viewing the same situation over and over again--even when the components of degradation and suffering are escalated--those viewing/participating lose all sense of the gravity of the situation. Their initial normal opinion and emotional response transforms over time to callous acceptance of the victim's pain and eventual demise. I think it's possible Lacey's parents started out caring and providing for their daughter--as the days, months and years wore on and Lacey's health deteriorated, so did her parent's comprehension and appropriate response to her. They essential fell into the feces couch hole psychologically right along with their daughter.

 

[Dotta]

It's says a lot when the coroner stated they were blown away by Lacey's condition--never seen anything like it in their entire career before, and were traumatized by her vile condition and death. So many studies have been done showing how people who have normal caring reactions to pain and suffering become desensitize by viewing the same situation over and over again--even when the components of degradation and suffering are escalated--those viewing/participating lose all sense of the gravity of the situation. Their initial normal opinion and emotional response transforms over time to callous acceptance of the victim's pain and eventual demise. I think it's possible Lacey's parents started out caring and providing for their daughter--as the days, months and years wore on and Lacey's health deteriorated, so did her parent's comprehension and appropriate response to her. They essential fell into the feces couch hole psychologically right along with their daughter.

I think this is a case for psychologists/ psychiatrists to ponder over.

 

[Sunshine95]

Even worse -
she had maggots!!! in these sores and died of sepsis,
which means whole body infection with symptoms: extreme pain, fever, confusion among others.

And amid that pain and confusion she sat there dying for days totally alone - absolutely horrific!

 

[trujac]

I think this is a case for psychologists/ psychiatrists to ponder over.

Yes, the Fletcher's lawyers might argue Lacey's parents both suffered from diminished responsibility: "diminished responsibility (or diminished capacity) is a potential defense by excuse by which defendants argue that although they broke the law, they should not be held fully criminally liable for doing so, as their mental functions were "diminished" or impaired." For example, after years of being primary caregiver's to Lacey, her parents became numb to the residual aspects of their daughter's failing health and well-being. They didn't understand the implications of their actions over a very long period of time, and how their daughter was becoming more and more incapacitated even though purid sanitation was out of control in their living quarters and their daughter was immersed in waste and infested with parasites. What sane person would live in a home like this??? How successfully their defense will be is anyone's guess. "The effect of the defense varies between the jurisdictions. In some, it will result in full excuse and therefore produce a verdict of "not guilty". In others, it offers only exculpation to a degree, resulting in the substitution of a lesser offence (e.g., manslaughter instead of murder) or a mitigated sentence."

Diminished responsibility - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I can't image how else their attorney will frame Lacey's parents defense, but there seems to be some corroborating evidence that the Fletchers were considered good citizens and good parents.

 

[Dotta]

Yes, the Fletcher's lawyers might argue Lacey's parents both suffered from diminished responsibility: "diminished responsibility (or diminished capacity) is a potential defense by excuse by which defendants argue that although they broke the law, they should not be held fully criminally liable for doing so, as their mental functions were "diminished" or impaired." For example, after years of being primary caregiver's to Lacey, her parents became numb to the residual aspects of their daughter's failing health and well-being. They didn't understand the implications of their actions over a very long period of time, and how their daughter was becoming more and more incapacitated even though purid sanitation was out of control in their living quarters and their daughter was immersed in waste and infested with parasites. What sane person would live in a home like this??? How successfully their defense will be is anyone's guess. "The effect of the defense varies between the jurisdictions. In some, it will result in full excuse and therefore produce a verdict of "not guilty". In others, it offers only exculpation to a degree, resulting in the substitution of a lesser offence (e.g., manslaughter instead of murder) or a mitigated sentence."

Diminished responsibility - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I can't image how else their attorney will frame Lacey's parents defense, but there seems to be some corroborating evidence that the Fletchers were considered good citizens and good parents.

The parents seem to be educated people.

Mother was an alderman, also an assisstant to a lawyer.

They live in the USA, the first World country with excellent health care.

There are so many ways to get help.
They could even ask their extended family for it.

But they chose to hide Lacey like a "dirty secret".

In my opinion, they lived in denial of her disability.

I see no mitigation factors here.

 

[trujac]

The parents seem to be educated people.

Mother was an alderman, also an assisstant to a lawyer.

They live in the USA, the first World country with excellent health care.

There are so many ways to get help.
They could even ask their extended family for it.

But they chose to hide Lacey like a "dirty secret".

In my opinion, they lived in denial of her disability.

I see no mitigation factors here.

I'm suggesting Lacey's parents were adversely affected by their daughter's mental and physical health. They developed a degree of mental illness as a consequence. The time line of a lot of factors is going to be critical to determining what happened. A dirty secret is a well put thought in assessing what surrounds Lacey and her parents. Mental health stigma might have influenced how Lacey and her parents initially decided on her lifestyle and care needs, and ended up for many years isolated in their family difficulties without any intervention. Why didn't any family doctor, family member, work colleague/family friend, neighborhood or school friend, etc. investigate to see how Lacey was doing, and send out an alarm on what was going on in the Fletcher home before things became catastrophic? There seems to have been a consensus to leave the Fletcher's to their own devices trusting that nothing was seriously amiss--which makes me think some people were complicit by remaining silent.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I can’t even describe my disgust at what happened here.

Many, many years ago I worked in a nursing home as a nurses aide. This was well before stricter regulations were in place regarding long term care. Some relatives just dumped their family member off to die. As aides, we did basic patient care. Many patients had horrific bed sores. And I do mean horrific. I still remember what they looked like to this day. If Lacey had sores like this she had to have been in just awful pain. What did they do, toss her an aspirin? She was simply a throwaway person to her own parents just like those poor nursing home patients, except she was much younger.

I just don’t even know what to say.

MOO

Those families you're describing left their relatives in the care of professionals. Maybe it was too mentally difficult for them to visit? Maybe they didn't ever have a healthy relationship with the person? But they brought them somewhere to be cared-for, unlike in this case. JMO.

 

[Dotta]

Those families you're describing left their relatives in the care of professionals. Maybe it was too mentally difficult for them to visit? Maybe they didn't ever have a healthy relationship with the person? But they brought them somewhere to be cared-for, unlike in this case. JMO.

Exactly.
Some patients need 24/7 care.
With family members working full time, choosing a care facility is the only option.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Lacey's obituary it said she was loved by many family and friends--she did have extended family relatively close by. One

I wonder what is going through her relatives' minds.

there seems to be some corroborating evidence that the Fletchers were considered good citizens and good parents.

If they were "good" parents when she was a teenager, why should that mitigate what they allowed her to suffer for so long later? They did remove her from school, where it sounds like she was doing alright. And I believe knew exactly how wrong this was, because they didn't allow anyone into their home for years (presumably).

 

[moonriverfarm]

I don't know the setup in the home but the room with the Christmas tree has a tile floor and the room where Lacey was has a wood floor. Maybe they watched TV in the tile floor room and left Lacey in this other room alone and "out of sight". I just can't wrap my head around them lounging around in the same room as their decaying child and all her bodily functions.

 

[esm3]

Looking at their home on Google earth, it looks like there’s a pond behind their house and backs up to a large wooded area. The houses are quite far apart, literally no one would have known. I really think the parents don’t believe they did anything wrong.

I’m a little annoyed it took so long to charge them. I would imagine a lot of evidence from the house is long gone.

 

[Fika]

What I find perplexing is that nobody seemingly visited the house in past well..months/years while she was obviously in distress on the couch.
They seem like social people you would think someone would be there. At least a repair man if not a family or friends.

 

[Dotta]

Maybe there was a number of people privy to the secret.
Who knows?

 

[trujac]

Maybe there was a number of people privy to the secret.
Who knows?

That's my take on it too--this all didn't happen in a vacuum of no one knowing except Lacey and her parents what was going on in their home regarding her care for so many years. The Fletcher family seems connected to their extended family based on family posted obituaries and their proximity to each other. The law firm representing the Fletchers is going to do whatever is necessary to humanize them in court and in public opinion, which might entail dragging in a lot of reluctant witnesses to testify.

 

[Lyanna]

Exactly.
Some patients need 24/7 care.
With family members working full time, choosing a care facility is the only option.

For some people it's the best option. Imo
People who require care and support can thrive and do well in a care setting, family members can be misguided at times, ime, not from a bad place but they can have certain expectations of their loved ones that they may not be able to meet/no longer can meet - imagine that? Being expected to do something but you can't, then the people who are supposed to love and care for you become angry and frustrated, relationships can break down, what was once there is replaced with resentment etc.
Care settings can be a good and neutral environment, where family can be family and not caregivers, where they can accept the individual for who they are, see them settled and receiving the care and support they need, and the individual is safe, well cared for, with trained people by their side to assist.

jmo

 

[trujac]

I wonder what is going through her relatives' minds.



If they were "good" parents when she was a teenager, why should that mitigate what they allowed her to suffer for so long later? They did remove her from school, where it sounds like she was doing alright. And I believe knew exactly how wrong this was, because they didn't allow anyone into their home for years (presumably).

Something happened over a decade that cause things in the Fletcher household to degrade to the horrific level it did with their daughter living in extreme and unsanitary filth and dying a monstrous and painful death. That something is the thing that could influence the punishment the parents receive. Showing that the parents changed overtime--becoming oblivious to the slow escalation of Lacey's inhumane conditions (having once been caring and loving parents to their daughter), and it was brought on by years of repetitive acclimation to a psychologically stressful situation--which in turn significantly altered their perception and an appropriate response to their daughter's disastrous descent into death--that could mitigate their culpability in this crime, imo.

 

[amandab]

I'm sorry, I can't think of a single instance or event that could cause so much psychological damage within the household that would mitigate allowing ones child to become one with the furniture.

 

[moonriverfarm]

It is incredibly hard to believe that NOBODY - no repair person, family member, neighbor - went in their house for 15 years.

 

[Lyanna]

It is incredibly hard to believe that NOBODY - no repair person, family member, neighbor - went in their house for 15 years.

You're right, it's unbelievable. Like others have stated, others probably did know, a select trusted few I imagine. Can't believe no-one reported what was going on. But then again, I read a lot of things that I can't believe happened on this forum daily, Lacey's story being one of the worst imo. I can't stop thinking about her and how her life was, its seriously upsetting and very disturbing to me. If other people did know, and did nothing - then shame on them imo, they are equally guilty in my eyes, because they continued to let this happen and stood by and did nothing. SMH at how they could sleep at night with that knowledge.MOO and JMO

Ebm - spelling

 

[tlcya]

I'm sorry, I can't think of a single instance or event that could cause so much psychological damage within the household that would mitigate allowing ones child to become one with the furniture.

Agreed. I honestly don't care what "mitigators" get trotted out if and when these folks face a jury. There isn't a single one that could make me find them less inhumane.