Paul Sableman via Wikimedia Commons

The suspected killer, Cleotha Abston, has now been charged with 1st-degree murder of Eliza Fletcher after the discovery of her body, along with the previously added charges of kidnapping and tampering with evidence of the Friday kidnapping. Cameras have captured photos of Fletcher running before the kidnapping, and DNA at the scene is linking Abston to the murder. Prosecutors appear confident in the case, even without corporation from Abston. Eliza Fletcher was a young mother and a kindergarten teacher in Memphis.

Williams described how authorities are “in a strong position,” given that they have been able to place Abston-Henderson at the scene of the abduction through DNA and other evidence. They also know that he was reported to have been scrubbing a portion of his vehicle and cleaning his clothes.

“They don’t really need him,” he went on. “There are just so many other things that tie Abston-Henderson to that scene that there is no need to make a deal with him.”

He added that investigators have to be “very careful how they go about getting the information from Abston-Henderson … because once he tells them he doesn’t want to talk, that he doesn’t want to say anything, even after they him of his constitutional right, anything that they get from him after such a conversation could very well be inexcusable in a court of law.”

Williams noted that there is no known “offer on the table” and Abston-Henderson potentially faces the death penalty.
“It is highly unlikely that they are going to get him to talk at all,” he said. “That is not something that is unusual, so unless the authorities are willing to offer him something and apply his cooperation or they will not get him to talk there.”

Williams described how authorities are “in a strong position,” given that they have been able to place Abston-Henderson at the scene of the abduction through DNA and other evidence. They also know that he was reported to have been scrubbing a portion of his vehicle and cleaning his clothes.

On the morning of September 2, 2022, Memphis teacher and young mother Eliza Fletcher was reported missing after not returning from a run. Fletcher was kidnapped by Cleotha Abston, 38, and pulled into his SUV, where she appeared to struggle and fight. According to court documents, a resident who was riding his bike found the cell phone of Eliza Fletcher, as well as sandals lying in the same area, which the family of the victim turned over to the police for testing. The body of Eliza Fletcher has been found on September 6th, 2022, 4 days after the initial kidnapping.



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