Parents of woman who “melted” into couch in Louisiana sentenced to 40 years
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 20 мар 2024
- Sheila and Clay Fletcher walked out of a packed East Feliciana courtroom in handcuffs and chains. Their daughter, Lacey, was found dead on the family's couch, covered in her own waste and weighing less than 100 pounds.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CBS 2 News Chicago brings you breaking news, weather, compelling exclusive content and award-winning investigative reports from the CBS 2 Investigators.
Subscribe to CBS 2 News Chicago on RUclips : / cbschicago
CBS 2 NEWS 24/7 LIVESTREAM: www.cbsnews.com/chicago/live/
CBS 2 NEWS ON PLUTO TV: pluto.tv/en/live-tv/62cdc75b1...
CBS 2 NEWS WEBSITE: www.cbsnews.com/chicago/
FACEBOOK: / cbschicago
X (TWITTER): / cbschicago
GET THE CBS 2 NEWS APP: apps.cbslocal.com/chicago/
I’m sorry but blaming the non verbal,paralyzed young girl for her own neglect and death is not right.
Right!! That’s sickening! Glad they will live out their years in prison.
This was a heartbreaking case when I first heard it. Next to the parents who locked up their daughter for dating a married man, these monsters don’t deserve to be called “parents.”
Neglect is about a complicit as abetting in her slow death :(…
1:28 I call bs. I have a mental needs family member and when it got too hard, services helped us to find a group home. Still hated that decision.
This is worse than child rape.
Sometimes it’s not quite that easy but I think this case case would have been given prioity for sure. Glad you had help when you needed it @@hnfiiinc5993
It's horrible. Even if she was defiant it's likely that it's because it was her only way of fighting back against the obvious abuse. They claim she was defiant a couple months before her passing but it takes a hell of a lot longer than a couple of months to end up in the condition that poor woman was in. They were the guardians and parents, if they couldn't properly handle her care they should have reached out to those that could help. I couldn't imagine the pain she was in.
Those lawyers blaming this poor girl that died a horrible death makes me sick
And how did she say what the defense lawyers said she did when she was non-verbal??? Makes zero sense!!
probable a public defender. someone has to represent them or they cannot be tried.
That hipster lawyer needs to go back to school. Lacey controlled them, really? She made them starve to death in her own feces?
Nothing to see here!
Lawyers will say anything, at all, no matter who they smear or attack or lie about.
Its about the win.
“Overwhelmed”, yet they had the excess time to take vacations and go to church regularly. What a joke.
Can you imagine the smells and insects? This is why I don’t take food from strangers.
Most religious ppl creep me out. And stuff like this is why. How can you go to church, listen to the stuff, and then leave your daughter to rot to death. I’m convinced church brainwashes garbage ppl into thinking they are golden. 🚮
Hey stop
Her parents deserve life without parole.
On a sofa, from which they can never move.
Shut up. Law will decide not you
It’s true!
40 years is bullshit.
They did get that cant you tell ? Shes Elderly that 40 years is a Death Sentence she will be lucky to survive 10 more years hopefully some caring mothers in there can teach her a lesson and make it only 1 ur sentence
@@jgesselbertythat's exactly my thought
She controlled THEM? I beg your f#cking pardon??!!
My reaction exactly
She was disabled, had special needs, and couldn't talk, but somehow SHE CONTROLLLED THEM!!! LOL
THIS is WHY I could NEVER be a lawyer! I would always want to get the most humane result, not the result my 'client' was seeking! To stand there defending the worst of people the world has seen, I just could not do!! I would be saying..... " Your honour, my client is a a piece of S**t, and I hope You sentence them in the harshest way you possibly can"!! For those a**holes, to stand there blaming a mentally disabled girl for her own parents pure neglect is DISGUSTING! makes me sick!
Yeah that’s a load of crap. It is true that some people will refuse care before they pass away, but that’s usually elderly or terminally ill people. This is callous indifference right here… they left her on a couch for 20 years and never took her to a doctor. Being a caretaker is incredibly demanding, but they weren’t even taking care of her. They let her rot in the living room. Truly disturbing.
what that attorney said was disgusting. Yes, it's his job to represent his client, but I don't know how he sleeps at night after saying such things
She 100% controlled them
Lacey was non verbal, how could she say she didn't want to go to the doctor or brush her teeth? Disgusting
That’s what I thought - he put a lot of words in her mouth
She was completely verbal when everyone else knew her
Lazy parents
So in the case of consent, if someone doesn't say anything ie "no!", then there's consent huh.
you have never dealt with a truly oppositional patient
"Unless you lived it you don't know" he says trying to blame the disabled child who lived it and died from it
It's an absolutely senseless remark if applied to the equally senseless notion that the victim is responsible for her own demise and death. It is a very poignant truth when applied to the difficulties that some families face as caregivers to disabled children. Given the nature of the victim's death, I doubt these two ever had her best interests at heart very often. I have no sympathy for them.
@@joeblog2672 I'm Autistic and I know how people behave towards those who are cared for, it's not always nice and can be down right abuse. The UK care system is a shambles if you ask me, the only thing that they "care" for, is money. I would have been better off if I was allowed to join the military, instead I got 15 years of bullying and abuse!!!! I'm had some right horrible stuff happen to me, and I've seen some awful things.
How do you "ignore" someone slowly disintegrating on your couch for 20 years? The smell alone must have been beyond foul.
Plus the constant screaming from being filled with maggots, bones poking through the skin. No neighbours heard it...
@@carlduckett9366 honestly, there's so much screaming and fighting on my street that I ignore it. The cops do not care when I call.
I remember seeing pictures of the inside of the house and it’s completely spotless. Like, it’s eerie how clean the place is and then the area where the daughter is the only “dirty” area.
Sounds like the daughter's death is being blamed on the deceased daughter. Disgusting.
I really need to connect my brain cells on this one, but let me try it... so a non-verbal autistic young woman who fused into the couch was controlling them? huh? how did she do that? willpower?
@@asgb752-belgium7 That was my exact thought, the Victim was nonverbal and has severe autism, how can they said she refused treatment and even seeing a doctor via FaceTime and that she controlled them ???!! The biggest Bs ever!! that defence lawyer is as Evil as the parents !!
"Sounds like the daughter's death is being blamed on the deceased daughter."
"Parents of woman who “melted” into couch in Louisiana sentenced to 40 years"
What part of that makes it sound like the daughter herself is being blamed???? Learn to read.
@@billyfraiser6298 1:28 The lawyer flat out says, "Lacey controlled them." If that's not blaming the victim, I don't know what is.
@@billyfraiser6298Learn to listen.
How could a dying woman, weighing less than 100 pounds, covered in her own waste, frozen in place, covered in maggots, rotting away, and starved to the point that she was eating the foam couch cushions, and her own waste, control two healthy, ambulatory people?
Even non-verbal, they had to have been ignoring her sounds of distress, smelled her, etc. The more one thinks of it, the more horrible it gets.
@@realemonful🤡
@@realemonfulNice one, scum-stain.
You're kidding right????
@@realemonfulCease your buffoonery.
1:42 SIR! She didn’t pass away in the manner that she did by refusing to brush her teeth or hair. Despicable inference. 🤬
How were the parents overwhelmed, they obviously spent little to no time caring for her!!
well, according to first responders, the smell of their house was pretty overwhelming. maybe that was it.
@@zubetp What?! They were referring to the parents being overwhelmed by her & her care. If they took care of her she wouldn't have died &, god forbid, the house wouldn't stink like death.
Not to excuse them or anything but for some people a side effect of being overwhelmed is doing nothing to address the issue at all. Clearly they felt burdened by her disability so instead of asking for help they just ignored her
Blaming this poor young woman for what her parents did to her is in unbelievably poor taste even for a attorney.
“Even for an attorney” lmao low key roast.
They are a disgrace , they should be charged along with their client.
If they can stand up in court and lie , and create so much pain for the victims in court, then they need to be held accountable as well.
It's disgusting what happens in court.
Not only the defence , but I've seen cases where the prosecution have lied about innocent people.
THIS is WHY I could NEVER be a lawyer! I would always want to get the most humane result, not the result my 'client' was seeking! To stand there defending the worst of people the world has seen, I just could not do!! I would be saying..... " Your honour, my client is a a piece of S**t, and I hope You sentence them in the harshest way you possibly can"!! For those a**holes, to stand there blaming a mentally disabled girl for her own parents pure neglect is DISGUSTING! makes me sick!
I agree, however it is a lawyers job, and the reason I could never be a defense attorney. Some people are built different, and those are the ones who can do certain jobs. If I was ever to be a lawyer, I would probably want to be a civil rights attorney, even though it is such a challenge in the US.
@@biochemica2 i know what a defence is , if you are innocent they need to put the evidence over to show innocence , however most of the time the defence are actively lying , they take a scrap of something and create a lie , and you arent supposed to lie in court , however it seem both defence and Prosecution can lie to suit the narrative . when the person is convicted the defence must face some sort of comeback for producing the lies that were disproven in court , we know full well the person defending themselves dont come up with elaborate lies , its just a game for the defence and prosecution , its all about winning and not justice to them
A non-verbal girl "controlled" her parents and "refused" to do basic things, thus taking her own life? Really?? Something tells me that this beautiful young lady could have been saved had her parents cared enough to seek help for her.
The victim blaming by the defense lawyers is disgusting
The only thing they wanted was her checks.
A good point,, they were getting money meant for her and not spending it on her - even more shameful.
i knew a woman like this who took care of her father that was pretty much gone. after he died she never reported it and got checks for 6 more months and had a bunch of dogs that only got fed once a day and used welfare to pay for it.
Think they wanted her to die to collect a life insurance check.
@@LoneVocalist yep on top of her social security checks. I'm sure they were living comfortably while she layed dying.
Facts
The judge should have given them life without parole.
At their age it is a life sentence in my humble opinion.
You know that a life sentence is 25 years and up?
There's life which in some states is 40 years then there's natural life....these people will check out well before the sentence is up
At their ages they wont live out the sentences.
Absolutely sickens me
*For the coroner to say "this was the most gruesome unnatural death ever seen, and it has affected me"*
Is a true testimony of the neglect these parents had.
She controlled them my a$$! I don't think she would have refused FOOD since her stomach was full of the stuffing from the couch!! These liars are unbelievable!!
They are evil liars.
Ironically they will be treated WAY better in prison than their daughter was in their own home.
In a Louisiana prison?
Anyone abusing kids or special needs people won’t get a good rep
Yes they’ll get 3 meals a day and exercise and a bathroom. All of that was more than their daughter got.
no, i dont think you know what its like in there. which is a good thing, but you're not accurately representing that hell hole. its worse than you and a lot of people think actually
@@aliceslab Inmates don’t care anymore, they let predators live these days it seems.
Maybe they’ll melt in their jail cells….
They were not sentenced to jail.
@@Ausgar-yc1yl bwa haaaaaaahaaaa a difference only some will cling to
@@robertafrender3935 They are different things and not interchangeable.
Hopefully. That way the countless sheeple out there saying that "ALL" parents are "loving" and "caring" will learn. And when a child (yes, that means also that girl's age) is going through something and desperately asks for help, those same people always respond "Get over yourself. Stop the judgmental behavior. Your parents do care about you." Go figure.
Sit down, Karen. This ain't no spamming. This is for those (you included) yssuP enough to be afraid of the truth. Having fun in your little beautiful garden of ignorance?@@BatarianBob
Their daughter was neglected her entire life, no medical care, no nothing, this is the most heinous case of child abuse I have ever heard of, there is no excuse under the realm of reality that would excuse any of this situation. There are a lot of resources put in place to help parents of children with autism. Please make this make sense?????
Excuse? How about stupid is as stupid does.
The attorney needs a mental check because how dare you blame that child
There's a special place in hell for that lawyer blaming it on the victim.
And her parents!
I agree. I believe in life after death and they will all have to face her and their conscience when they leave this planet. In the next life there is no way to hide the truth or your real thoughts and feelings, all is transparent.
Everyone has a right to legal representation and the best defense possible. That lawyer KNEW it wouldn't work. They were doing the job that we all have a right to. If the best and only defense was that then that is what they get. THEY are the ones that chose to plead not guilty, not their attorney.
Some of these defense attorneys are saints. They defend people (again because it's our right required for a fair system) they can't stand. Someone has to. Go listen to some defense attorneys talk about having to make monsters look as good as possible because that's what their job is. You may be surprised at how hard it is for them.
Something Else to consider is that it may not have been their best defense but the attorney accepted it Knowing the jury would hate it.
@@CynHicks but what if one of these lawyers manage to get a murderer free, on technicality, and this accused murderer then hurts-in some way-someone close to you? It is then found that he was indeed guilty of the crime he was previously accused of... what would one feel then?
@SuperHawk0413 the point of the law system is not to let emotions run through. If he frees him, that’s not the fault of the lawyer who is doing his job, that’s a problem with the system. He may feel personal guilt, but he is doing what everybody has a right to. What if that “murdurer” was falsely accused and the lawyer deliberately put up a bad case, causing him to go to jail?
Dude… that coroner for ~30 years was _SHOOK_ ! That really says something.
Yeah, when the coroner suffers PTSD and will possibly be needing therapy, then it’s BAD!
Yes it does. You can tell how affected he is by it.
Horrible monster parents
That says a lot !
The look on his face and his tone of voice said it all. I have a nephew with autism whom I helped raise and he was nonverbal till the age of 7. I know quite a few disabled people and have known them since they were seven or eight and they're now young adults. The most difficult thing so far their parents had to endure was puberty. The disabled community in my sister's Town banded together to help each other. While quite a few people were poor in my sister's town there were a lot of people with money and they donated generously to the disabled park programs. Socialization and getting children out into the community is an integral way of helping them become verbal or at least used to being around different people. And getting them out and moving is very important. The parents are directly responsible for her death. In my opinion it was murder, but maybe they just didn't know how or where to ask for help. And Louisiana is not very helpful to the poor people in their state.
Whatever the issue was there is no excuse to let someone die that way, especially someone you profess to love
My SO's mom survived a traunatic brain injury that stunted her mobility and communication. One time, my SO tried to give mom water but mom was only into protein drinks. She used her good hand to hold the bottle of water outside her bed railings, stared her kid in the eyes, and poured the entire water bottle on the floor. She wasn't left in the bed for ten fkn years for defiantly refusing water. At least two CNAs have dropped her on the floor and left her there until her husband got home to lift her back into bed. That's not how shit is supposed to happen. They are absolutely completely criminal and deserve more than what they got. It's not hard for two people to help someone off a couch, especially already underweight.
"She controlled them." That guy should have his law license taken away. Disgusting.
How did she refuse by saying NO? She was non verbal. As a former autism behaviorist this makes me so sad. This young lady was neglected simply because her parents didn't want to be bothered.
She was verbal and active in high school
@@graceg3250yes she was. She was even a popular athlete in highschool. Medical experts say that the first 2 years out of the 22 years that her health deteriorated, were the years when she was still reactive and can communicate. However, in the next 2 decades, she was non-verbal and non-mobile. The parents could have very well taken her to the doctor or let one go to their house. If there's a will, there's a way. It seems like they were not concerned at all just because she can no longer verbally complain. Of course they can see (and smell!) her physical condition. Literally rotting in her own feces with maggots eating her alive. She had been eating the couch foam because there's nothing else for her to eat. In the meantime, they are busy keeping an active schedule at their local church and community. So terrible.
If you're a behaviourist you should no that speech isn't the only form of communication & people cam absolutely say no, be oppositional, be aggressive & violent etc.
There are a lot of good points to make against the parents but this repeated point in the comments is a dumb one.
@@graceg3250again, 20 YEARS AGO
@@aussiejubes how can she say no when she can’t even talk? And she’s autistic which makes it that much harder to communicate. There is literally no way for her to communicate. It seems like you are being the dumb one.
The fact that they left her on that couch like that everyday for years means they acted like they didn't see or smell what was going on. How?!
She was wayyy more than neglected. She was starved and she couldn't move off the couch on her own and she wasn't even dressed when the EMT's arrived. They totally lied about Laci not wanting to do things. They NEVER got any kind of help or even tried to get her any help. The coroner said her position was her trying to get out of the couch but unable to do so with her own strength. She was FUSED with the couch because it had been years since she had moved. She also had some of the couch filler in her stomach... when people are tortured it should be death penalty.
It's disgusting how these lawyers blaming that poor girl like it's beyond outrageous
Lawyers are paid to be scumbags
Lacey was a victim. Her parents did nothing to help her and she ultimately died.
The parents are acting like they left a bike outside in the rain. If they didn't want her, which they very clearly didn't, they should've placed her in a home. Instead they let her decay on the sofa. That's so malicious.
Exactly. There is NO excuse for what they did. None.
not to defend the parents at all since they're literally evil, but it is so incredibly difficult to get a disabled child into a care home. My brother is severely autistic and we needed to get him into a care home for people with severe special needs, but it costed $130,000 and insurance wasnt gonna cover most of it. They totally could've taken better care of her, but unfortunately I dont think they were ever going to be able to get her in a home. :(
It's difficult to "place" an autistic adult in a group home in the deep south. The system fails these kids
Edit: I typed this before reading the comment above saying the same thing
The only thing they wanted was her paychecks. Disgusting!
@@omni8568They could have done something, ANYTHING though. Most states have Disabled Dependent Adults Services (ages 18-59). They literally could have dropped her off at their office, an ER, police station, or a fire station & she'd have been better off - obviously. In those locations, someone would have called local resources at the very least. She'd be alive if they had.
What did they do to her that Lacey would become like this? Her friends said she was a fun and loving person, and suddenly she was home schooled , refused to leave the house, refused to leave the couch, became non verbal? Even if she refused, why did you allow it to escalate to this point? Why not take her to see a doctor at the beginning or call an ambulance if she refused to leave the couch? There is no way I'd ignore all of this and simply say... Yea she didn't want to....
That attorney is disgusting.
This is pure evil. Sitting them watching your child starve and suffer a terrible death.
What makes me much angry is that they blame her now.
Oh, come on. When her physical state began deteriorating, they could have called 911. The hospital could have hooked Lacey up with the services she needed. There's no way she was in control of that situation, and you can't tell me she wanted to end up that way. She could not care for herself at all. She tried to eat but the only thing available was the couch stuffing, so she ate that.
Right they contradict themselves. They state she was non verbal …exactly how much control could she have ?
Yes
They probably didn't wanna pay the ambulance and hospital bills. Probably didn't have her on health insurance, but they could have. If things get that bad, you seek help. I'm amazed they called 911 when she died
They were too busy with their social life
That's some sick shit.......the jail is pretty much a retreat for them, at this point! As that's no *real punishment. You know that someone is foul (beyond disbelief) if the coroner (or doctor......whichever he was) was negatively affected by what he saw. Alot of folk like to play with Life, as if it's really a stage for them to show out on. These 2 had an array of years to do right by that young woman (cause it's obvious that they did not consider her their child).......but instead they did them and probably benefitted financially from having her around. Now, they can dance around and pussyfoot with the outcome that they created for themselves. To even be privy to knowing such quality minds exist is disturbing and hurts ones brain to consciously be privy to.
How can someone who's paralyzed resist care?
What a beautiful girl. Glad she's no longer in that horrible situation.
I have severe mental health problems My parents got overwhelmed but they never neglected me, that's disgusting and their lawyers are absolutely soulless
They tortured her for decades, she was reliant on them 100% for her care. They wanted her to die. It was intentional, premeditated murder by neglect and starvation. My heart goes out to all the people who witnessed the poor deceased woman in that condition, the smell alone must have been horrific.
"Unless you've lived it you don't know what it's like." What a disgusting excuse for a human that lawyer is. I know what it is like. I raised a boy with similar, but significantly worse symptoms than their daughter had, and while it was incredibly difficult, I assure you that what they did was completely inexcusable and beyond horrific.
You are a human being those parents weren't. Being a caregiver is taxing but what they CHOSE to do selfish and evil
Exactly he is disgusting for sure
What the??? Are they blaming the victim here?? She was mentally ill - instead of calling for help they watched her "melt" (rot) into the sofa?? 20 years !? No Way!!
As someone who has recently taken in my oldest, special needs brother, who is verbal unlike this poor young lady, there are sooooooooo many resources for people who share her symptoms as a specials needs person. I have learned that there really isn’t a reason that a loved one can’t dig into those resources to get the help they need to help and care for their special need family members.
To say that this poor girl controlled them is wild and evil. I don’t know how that attorney sleeps at night victim blaming someone who couldn’t speak for themself. Those parents literally let her just rot away and I cannot wrap my head around as to how and why they did that to their own flesh and blood.
"I’ve seen every kind of death there is. I’ve never seen a homicide like this. I have never seen a human being literally tortured and allowed to die while she is alive. I’ve never seen that in my life. Lacey did not decompose. She rotted in her own body, in that hole, in that sewer, in the couch."
- Dr. Ewell Bickham, chief coroner.
He didn't say homicide. He said unnatural. If you are going to quote makers accurate.
It bothered me also Dr. But not like you suffered I'm so happy those monsters are locked up. May they rot in prison. Ty Dr.❤
@@tchlinIt really doesn’t matter! Her lack of care says it all!
How dare anybody blame this child? That attorney is worse than the parents…..
Totally agree!
Agree pitiful excuse for alawyer🎉
Basketball people never do this type of stuff to their kids as much as you all love to talk about them, always them tennis people doing the most unforgivable things 🤷🏽♂️
@jayshizzle35 wrong. Black woman decapitated her 3 month baby and left the body on the kitchen counter. There's many more like that. Stop it with that racist shit. Evil exists across all races.
@@jayshizzle35 you got to be better at pretending to be black -_-
Not brushing your teeth doesn't result in that. I'm sorry but, no. Not brushing your hair doesn't result in that. Sorry, but no. Melting into the couch doesn't happen overnight. Sorry but no. That is the result of someone that is unable to move on their own being left for dead.
Why are people angry at a defense attorney for defending.
This is what the man was hired to do, he knows the parents aren't getting away with it
Absolutely disgusting to blame the victim.
But that's how humanity functions these days. Those who need the most support, care, attention, and recognition will NEVER see any of it. Instead, it's all about wealth, power, popularity, classism, and corruption. It's unfortunate... but that's just the reality of mankind.
@@Novastar.SaberCombat And every day I have to tell myself not to become jaded by all of it. I might as well give up all together if I did that.
Lawyers are taking the same path of least resistance. Blaming someone that can't defend herself. Just so they can move on to the next victim.
People are disgusting! Animals take care of their young better than humans do
Welcome to the American South. Let’s stop sending food there.
They didn't get any help because they wouldn't be getting the checks for her
Exactly. Putting her in a home would have directed those checks to the home instead of them.
Lacey didn't know any better they were the parents!!!! Give them life with out parole !!!
40 years pretty much is.
They were sentenced to 40 years, they arent gonna outlive those sentences.
What?! That lawyer said that Lacey refused treatment and care?! She was too weak to have refused or ask for anything! I hope those parents serve every year they were given. No early release or parole!
That's the lawyer doing his job. Defending his clients, whatever he has to say. But don't worry. The parents are already old, and likely won't live out their sentence. Especially now that they will be separated from each other.@@ninastout3522
That cold 🥶
I Can believe these defense attorneys are blaming the disabled daughter for her demise !!! . It was revealed that the parents had guests over from time to time, and the guests and good friends didn't even know that these two had a child under the same roof . What's really crazy, is the parents seemed to be normal, and respectable citizens in the community !!!. How could they sleep at night I'll never understand 😮.
I had a neighbor who had a daughter similar to Lacey. Her daughter could get uncooperative at times, and would even destroy things in her surroundings if left unchecked, but her mother took excellent care of her until she passed away. Being overwhelmed is no excuse. If you can't handle the pressure, get assistance like other people do.
She was nonverbal and said no this no that ….
Disgusting parents
Thats not parents thats Monsters.
The lawyer saying that the parents were controlled by the victim is an absolute lie!
Agree- this is no way to treat anyone you love. So sad 😞
lots of parents are overwhelmed with their disabled child/children. their lawyers are just making pathetic excuses!
It’s their job. That’s why “What do you call 10k lawyers at the bottom of the sea?…. A good start,” is such a popular joke.
Bottom feeders
Just look at him. He’s an acid casualty who looks like he has been living in the town dump for 30 years. Last time he washed his hair was during the Nixon administration. He probably smells odious.
Couldn't imagine. You've got a 30+ year Coroner saying this is the worst case he's seen. Unreal...
R.I.P
Lacey Fletcher
The first responders who took the call and went to the house said the same thing. They couldn't eat for weeks.
"corner"? Do you mean "CORONER"?
@@BunnySpaceMachine I'm sure that's because of auto-complete typing
@@mariaelda6271people just don't proofread anymore.
No kidding. When the veteran coroner is horrified, you know it was bad.
Awful abuse of the poor young woman. I hope no one else suffers but I know beings do all over this world. I made mistakes with my dad and I think about the few days. Doctors tell me I expanded my dad's life by two years but it still bothers me. His mind would go at times due to a colonized bacterial infection. We had beautiful days together but the couple of days I messed up haunt me. Take my advice no matter what is said or done when dealing with someone you love with a mental health issue just hug them and say it's ok. Don't make my mistakes in getting upset and reacting out of anger.
They saw their daughter as a problem they didn't want to deal with. It wasn't just neglect it was torture and murder. Those attorneys blaming that poor child is despicable.
Typical demons.
No kidding . And typical sheeple out there saying that "ALL" parents are "loving" and "caring". And when a child (yes, that means also that girl's age) is going through something and desperately asks for help, those same people always respond "Get over yourself. Stop the judgmental behavior. Your parents do care about you." Go figure.
How can a disabled person who can’t even get put of that couch where she died control these monsters! That defense lawyer is despicable!
"She didn't want help, she told them "no,"" that is single-handedly the worst defense to neglect I've ever heard. 20 years, and from her only picture shown by the media, I highly doubt she asked to succumb to a horrible end on that couch. If I remember, people said she might've had "locked-in syndrome" which is how she couldn't move? Either way, her parents are vile for letting that happen in the house for 20 straight years. I can't even imagine that, because I'm only 22. Thats almost my entire life that she was ignored. May she rest in peace.
It's like blaming a quadriplegic for not getting enough exercise.
There is absolutely no excuse for anyone to treat a human or animal with lazy neglect. Ask for help if you need it.
I've worked with severe developmental disabled people and trust me, if you wanted to you could get them showered, fed and having a "normal" life
Yes I have also supported people with varied disabilities some minor and some very complex.
I feel these parents just had given up caring for their daughter cause she took up their time.
It's disgusting that there are so many special needs children being subjected to abuse and neglect by parents/caregivers. Several of these cases have gone to trial and parents have been been found guilty. Thank you to the media for covering these cases and bringing these people into the spotlight.
Care for your children 🤗
...and if you can't, you surrender the child to the state. You don't leave them sitting in their own filth for months/years.
I absolutely knew they'd blame her for "being lazy" and refusing care
They could have easily put her in a nursing home for care, but they wanted those checks to continue but didn't want to put in the work. Disgusting.
Those lawyers seem blaming the poor girl unbelievably sickening.
It’s easy to blame the person who cannot defend themself. He said for the final months she refused medical care but also stated that for almost 20 years she was not given medical care. It was their responsibility to care for her. There is no excuse great enough to explain this away.
The kid would not get in the car to see a doctor so what were the parents supposed to do? Anyone who has stubborn relatives knows what I am talking about.
@@savvytravelhub Call 9-1-1. Seriously, how dumb are you?
Even if they had to call the cops, this person was by age an adult and hadn't been declared incompetent legally so even if the cops refused to do something for any other reason they could get her removed for trespassing.
That also sounded so crazy to me. In her last month she refused care. You don't wait till your child is dying
@savvytravelhub um you call 911 and get an ambulance to take them to the hospital? She was 80lbs when she died I seriously doubt she'd put up much of a fight
How can a non-verbal person say "no" to all the those things? Ridiculous.
They won’t even take responsibility. The plea shouldn’t have been excepted.
And seeing their own daughter knowing she can't help herself and they just left her in that couch and surely the smell how can they?
I work with students with autism and for someone to insinuate that because someone refuses to help, it's okay to do nothing. There are agencies that could help. They could have had her committed at least she wouldn't have died rotting in her own filth.
I'd like to think that that were plenty of institutions that would have taken her, but this is Louisiana. They spend their taxes on something, but it's not on roads, education, or the disabled.
Amen. There were options besides this awful outcome. Period.
Please name the agencies for those who might be unaware.
Exactly.
Lacey had taken to the couch at 14 and her parents told doctors she refuses to move, but did not get more help. A mentally ill person cannot set the terms. The parents were overwhelmed and it crossed the line into criminal behavior.
@@kerrynight3271 I agree. For one of my college classes I took last year, I wrote an essay on Improving Healthcare for Elders. In one part of the essay, I compare Mississippi and Louisiana, and apparently, Louisiana has better access to healthcare than Mississippi does.
To have continued living in the same house is downright evil.
Facts
I have Autism. My family abused me the whole way trying to get me to stop being Autistic. I have CPTSD and avoid them all. I thank God for my husband.
Thank goodness you have someone taking care of you and treating you well. I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through 😢🙏🌈
Thank you
Did anyone notice that news clip of these two parents being supported by their church? My question is..... didn't anyone in that church group think this situation needs to be reported to the police or such?
Ahh...once again the churches are involved in sinister goings on. Who woulda thunk it?
As long as they were giving a church donation every Sunday. Does the church really care about anyone?
@@karencarpenter5845 they care about making more contributors. Clearly someone who would never be a contributor was less valuable to them.
That’s what churches do ! It’s all about the money ! I’ve seen it first hand will never go to church again.
@@karencarpenter5845 They care about getting more donors in their doors, that's it.
Give them both "LIFE IN PRISON WITHOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF PAROLE" !!
This is a life sentence at their age…
Look at how old they are, they wont outlive the sentences
They pleaded no contest, so they only get 10-20years
They need solitary confinement for life and not be allowed to go outside
Under US law, cruel and unusual punishment@@jaredporter2228
How could Lacey have “said” anything if she was non-verbal?
What's wrong with that lawyer? The girl was NON-verbal, so how could she "say" that she didn't want to do anything? You lost this case!
My heart goes out to the coroner 😢 he was literally unable to eat for a week or rest because of it 😔
Where did you hear that?
@@BunnySpaceMachine it was on a news report
shortly after his exam was finished
@@toryberchyeah I'm gonna go with no. Bro didn't say anything about not being able to eat. You 100% made that up.
@@BunnySpaceMachine that's your opinion hon not mine and your free to it
@@toryberchyou're*🙄
JFC.....
Sorry - don't accept their attorney's excuses. If you cannot take care of your child you must seek help from the state.
How?
@@savvytravelhub start by calling 911, or health and human services in any state.
This is why the death penalty exists.
there is no death penalty
Those parents wanted her to die. They easily could’ve asked for help with their daughter.
What a crock of lies by these defense attornies to blame the daughter it was these barbaric child abuseing parents who neglected their daughter & should spend rest of the miserable lives behind bars.
Thankfully the judge agreed. They got jail time
She controlled them? WOW. I can’t believe they said that out loud.
Right? Intrusive thoughts unchecked
This is why people should be required to have a license to have children... the process to purchase/adopt a pet vs having a child speaks volumes of humanity.
Similar thing happened here in Adelaide South Australia a few years back.
The offending party was sentenced to 6 years jail
u havent walked in their shoes...they say for an excuse..actually i have.. and i raised twins..one special needs... and he isnt stuck to a couch. dont give condsecendi9ng statements like that in defending those parents. a lot of people have been in their shoes. disgraceful.
She was non- verbal, so how did she refuse care. They simply did nothing for their child for at least a decade. Horrendous.
These lawyers need to be humiliated nationally for what they just tried to say about that poor woman
Those lawyers blaming the clearly disabled victim who was horribly neglected was disgusting. All they had to do was try. Try to get her to an ER. Try to call an ambulance to see if she was impaired enough to be taken in under a 5150. Try to call family. Hell, dropping her off at a DHS office or calling Dependent Adult Protective Services (ages 18-59 who are disabled) to say it was beyond their capacity to care for her would have been less cruel.
No medical claim in 20 yrs speaks to the neglect. The coroner stating this case has affected him speaks to the horror.
If the daughter is non verbal how could she say she wouldn’t do something? Like virtual doctor’s appointments. RIP 🙏🏽
Good point!
First of all, non verbal people can often communicate nonverbally (writing, switch buttons, hand signals, head nods, etc.) Second, she wasn’t non verbal when she was in school
@@graceg3250 Go troll somewhere else you evil person!
She couldn’t have stopped a house call had they called a doctor to the house, if she wasn’t going to or able to get off the couch, no matter how much refusing, parents could’ve stepped in and had a doctor come and evaluate her and commit her to a home if needed, or sedate her for a check up. They were her caregivers. They didn’t give care.
The defense attorneys should of kept quiet. Blaming the daughter for her parents actions is crazy.
I guess this is the only way their daughter can receive justice. What on earth were they thinking ?🤔
Earlier in the woman's life, she was functional. Something about her parents caused her to deteriorate. How can you go from functional to melting and dying into a couch?
Yes, I really wish we knew more about that too.
The entire thing is suspicious when it comes to the parents, because apparently she went to regular school until 10th grade and even played team sports at school. Her former classmates were interviewed and noted that she was more child-like in her interests and was occasionally bullied, but overall she seemed nice and normal-ish.
I don't doubt that she would have had a rough time in school (I'm the same age as her and I did, and I'm not even on the spectrum) but after her parents took her out in 10th grade to be homeschooled, it seems that she was just gradually seen less and less until she went missing in her early 20s but no one noticed because her classmates hadn't seen her in years and the neighbors simply assumed she'd moved away to start her own life like most people do at that age.
My goodness. How could they defend this evilness? The lawyers are on the same evil level as those parents! My goodness gracious!
It's their job. If you don't do your job, you give the courts the ability to call a mistrial for abusing their rights to council.
@@qwipperty they can do their job effectively without saying such awful things and disparaging a helpless victim who died in a tragic way. C'mon...
@@faraboverubieskerry creating doubt. It's scummy, but it's effective.
Hey Defense Attorneys, please continue blaming the victim who is not fit to care for themselves for this. That will be a winning strategy and in no way will disgust a jury/judge. 🤦🏻♂️
The coroner basically said he has PTSD from seeing Lacey. Surely she cannot be to blame. I can't even believe what her parents lawyers said. Disgusting.
Profound neglect. The attorneys defending these MONSTERS say there was nothing they could do. For 20 years. Not one health insurance claim. They need to be locked away until they rot. RIP Lacey. You never got the family you deserved.
I understand that the parents were overwhelmed. That's what the County and State are for. I had an elderly neighbor a few years ago with dementia. She was all alone. As neighbors, we couldn't watch her 24/7. It got to be just too much, and got Adult Protective Services involved. They moved her to a facility that could handle her, at taxpayers cost. So these parents had no reason to leave their daughter in such horrid conditions for so long. Shameful.
I’m grateful you didn’t let her diminish in there alone and got her care. We’ll all be old one day and hope for kindly, family, friends, and neighbors and caretakers.