On Friday, 34-year-old mother-of-two Eliza Fletcher was abducted while out for a morning jog close to the University of Memphis campus.
Cleotha Abston, 38, was detained on suspicion of kidnapping her on Saturday. He is being jailed on a $500,000 bond after being charged with particularly aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence on Sunday. The victim, the suspect, and the most recent information in the Eliza Fletcher case is listed here.
The Victim: Eliza Fletcher
According to police, Fletcher was out for her routine early-morning exercise on Friday at about 4.20 am when the abduction started. When a black 2013 GMC Terrain SUV went past the mother-of-two running toward the University of Memphis campus, it was caught on surveillance video. A man was spotted stepping out of the SUV after it had pulled up and running aggressively toward the jogging.
The two engaged in a fierce battle as the man pushed Fletcher into the car's passenger side. The two then remained inside the car for around four minutes until it sped away, according to the video. When Fletcher didn't come back from her run, her family filed a missing person's report. The scene of her kidnapping yielded the jogger's cellphone and water bottle.
Investigators also discovered a pair of Champion slide shoes that were left behind during the scuffle and are thought to belong to Abston. To find the missing mother of two, images of the suspected car were made public. Just 24 minutes before to the kidnapping, the identical SUV was seen prowling the location where Ms. Fletcher was taken on surveillance tape. Fletcher is highly known in the neighborhood for being a revered educator and the heir to a wealthy local business.
The 34-year-old is a granddaughter of the late Memphis hardware supply company founder Joseph "Joe" Orgill III, a prominent local businessman and philanthropist. The private, family-owned company has 5,500 employees and a current market value of $3.2 billion. The Orgill family is well-known in the neighborhood.
Orgill is the biggest privately owned hardlines distributor in the world, providing retailers in North America and more than 60 countries around the world access to more than 75,000 products and industry-leading retail services, according to the company website.
Fletcher chose to work as a local kindergarten teacher rather than continue his father's line of work. She is wed to Richard Fletcher III, and the two of them have two boys. In a tearful press conference on Saturday, her family pleaded for help in locating her and offered $50,000 in exchange for her safe return. Pink running shorts and a pink jogging top were Fletcher's last known outfits. She is described as being 137 pounds, 5'6" tall, with brown hair and green eyes, according to Independent.
The Suspect: Cleotha Abston
Court documents, the suspect charged with kidnapping Tennessee heiress Eliza Fletcher was accused of rape when she was a young adolescent and previously served 20 years for violently kidnapping a prosecutor. In accordance with court documents obtained by the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Cleotha Abston, 38, has a juvenile record that dates back to when he was just 12 years old. The crimes include aggravated assault with a weapon and rape.
According to historical records, he was just 16 years old when he abducted Memphis-based prosecutor Kemper Durand in the early hours of May 25, 2000. As per Durand's statement, only chance saved him alive that day. In an obituary written following Durand's passing 13 years later, Lewison Thomason, the old law firm, described how Abston held a gun against Kemper's face and demanded his car keys and pushed him into the trunk.
According to the report, the attorney didn't notice an armed security guard near one of the ATMs until after several hours. Abston was eventually found guilty of aggravated robbery and exceptionally aggravated abduction, the latter of which was one of two new allegations brought against him on Sunday for the alleged kidnapping of Fletcher, a 34-year-old hardware heiress, and teacher who was still missing on Monday.
Records obtained by the Commercial Appeal, Durand battled to keep him behind bars when he attempted to appeal his 2001 conviction of serving 24 years in prison. Durand provided a history of Abston in that impact statement, documenting his appearances in juvenile court records in 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999. The story omitted information about his conviction or the specific circumstances behind the accusations, including the alleged rape.
Durand also criticized Abston for waiting more than a year to enter a guilty plea, calling the delay jailhouse braggadocio. Contrastingly, Durand had testified on behalf of Abston's co-accused, Marquette Cobbins, to reduce his sentence, according to his law firm.
The judge decided to impose the least severe sentence on Cobbins after hearing his appeal. According to the Memphis Flyer at the time, he received a seven-and-a-half-year sentence and was eligible for parole after serving 18 months. Early in February 2013, Durand passed away. In November 2020, The Commercial Appeal, Abston was released.
While neighbors in the Memphis area branded him scary and a pervert, stating he would offer them money for sex, he does not appear to have any charges against him that have been officially recorded in the recent two years. After DNA testing on a pair of sandals left at the scene of Fletcher's kidnapping, he was apprehended on Sunday. Later, video footage surfaced showing him allegedly violently kidnapping the mother during her daily early-morning jog
According to an affidavit, his phone also located him at the location, and camera evidence revealed that he had been snooping around for at least 24 minutes before to Fletcher's capture. According to the affidavit, he was also observed: acting quite strangely while he scrubbed his clothes and washed the inside of his work SUV, as per New York Post.
Latest in Eliza Fletcher Case
A significant police presence was seen Monday afternoon near a creek about six miles from where Eliza Fletcher was last seen, days after her kidnapping in Memphis. Around 14 police vehicles were seen by Fox News leaving an area leading to Nonconnah Creek. Police claimed they are still searching at several sites, but they would not clarify if the intense police presence was connected to the Fletcher probe.
A fresh federal allegation of identity theft, along with counts of property theft and fraudulent credit card use, were brought against Abston on Monday. Even though Fletcher has not been located, Memphis police stated in the affidavit that they think the abduction, which was captured on surveillance tape, resulted in serious injuries to the victim.
There is no indication in online court documents that Abston has a lawyer who can speak for him. Tuesday has been set aside for an arraignment, Fox News reported.
Related Article: Missing Eliza Fletcher: Footage Shows Violent Abduction as Police Search Home Where Suspect Caught Washing Clothes, Cleaning Car
