Tuesday, police confirmed that a body discovered in a Memphis neighborhood on Monday belonged to a Tennessee woman who was taken late last week. Early Friday morning, surveillance footage captured Eliza Fletcher, 34, being forced into an SUV while jogging near the University of Memphis.
The accused suspect, 38-year-old Cleotha Abston, is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree murder in the commission of a kidnapping, according to police.
Tuesday morning, Abston stood before a court on counts of kidnapping, tampering with evidence, theft, identity theft, and fraudulent credit card use. There were more than 20 media members and relatives of Fletcher present in the courtroom.
Abston was issued a bond in the amount of $510,000. Abston stated that he could neither afford bond nor an attorney. A public defender was assigned to represent Abston by General Sessions Judge Louis Montesi.
During a press conference on Tuesday morning, Steven Mulroy, the district attorney for Shelby County, which encompasses Memphis, stated that Abston will be arraigned on murder charges the following day.
According to an arrest document, U.S. marshals arrested Abston on Saturday after investigators discovered his DNA on a pair of sandals located near where Fletcher was last seen.
Police also connected the vehicle believed to have been used in the kidnapping to a resident of the residence where Abston was residing.
Monday night, police announced that a body had been discovered, but that the name and cause of death were unknown. A substantial police presence was reported in the area where the body was discovered shortly after 5 p.m. Throughout the long Labor Day weekend, the Memphis police searched multiple places using dogs, ATVs, and a helicopter.
The schoolteacher Fletcher is the granddaughter of the late Memphis hardware merchant and philanthropist Joseph Orgill III. The family has issued a video statement pleading for assistance in locating Fletcher and has offered a reward of $50,000 for information in the case.
In 2000, Abston abducted a famous Memphis attorney, according to the Commercial Appeal. Abston pushed Kemper Durand into the trunk of his own automobile at gunpoint when he was 16 years old. After a number of hours, Abston ordered Durand to drive to a Mapco petrol station and withdraw cash from an ATM.
At the station, an armed Memphis Housing Authority guard entered, prompting Durand to call for assistance. Abston fled, but was located and arrested. According to court documents, he pled guilty in 2001 to particularly severe kidnapping and aggravated robbery. His sentence was 24 years in prison.
In a victim impact statement, Durand wrote: “I was extraordinarily fortunate to have escaped from Cleotha Abston’s custody… Almost certainly, I would have been killed if I hadn’t escaped “reported the Commercial Appeal
Durand passed away in 2013, seven years prior to Abston’s release in November 2020 at the age of 36. Prior to his arrest on Saturday, Abston had not been charged in Shelby County in the two years since his parole, the Commercial Appeal said.
Share on Facebook «||» Share on Twitter «||» Share on Reddit «||» Share on LinkedIn