Eliza Fletcher latest: Cleotha Abston’s teen rape conviction revealed as he’s arraigned for teacher’s murder

Abston appeared in court on Wednesday morning where he asked to be known by his paternal surname Henderson

Man appears in court charged with murder of heiress Eliza Fletcher

Cleotha Abston was convicted of raping a man when he was a teenager – almost three decades before he allegedly kidnapped and murdered Memphis business heiress Eliza Fletcher.

Now 38, Abston was just 14 years old when he committed a juvenile delinquent act of rape against an unnamed male, according to court documents.

Abston appeared in Shelby County Circuit Court on Wednesday morning for arraignment on first degree murder charges, where he asked that he be known by his paternal surname of Henderson.

Judge Louis Montesi revoked his bond, and ordered another hearing on Thursday.

Fletcher, a 34-year-old mother of two and granddaughter of billionaire Joseph Orgill III, was violently abducted while out jogging near the University of Memphis campus and forced into an SUV at 4am on Friday.

Her family released a statement on Tuesday afternoon saying that they are “heartbroken and devastated” by her murder.

“We are grateful beyond measure to local, state and federal law enforcement for their tireless efforts to find Liza and to bring justice to the person responsible for this horrible crime,” the statement continued.

Key points

• Cleotha Abston held without bond, requests name change
• Eliza Fletcher’s family break silence on ‘senseless’ killing
• Footage shows murder suspect Cleotha Abston cleaning SUV
• Women demand change after Eliza Fletcher’s murder
• Video emerges of Eliza Fletcher singing to her students

[8 September 2022 06:30 · Bevan Hurley]

Cleotha Abston’s 2000 kidnap victim worked at same law firm as Eliza Fletcher’s uncle

There is no indication that the law firm connection between Fletcher’s uncle Mike Keeney and kidnapping victim Kemper Durand has anything to do with her murder, which investigators described as an ‘isolated attack by a stranger’.

Rachel Sharp reports.

[8 September 2022 07:30 · Bevan Hurley]

Eliza Fletcher’s family break silence on ‘senseless’ killing

“Now it’s time to remember and celebrate how special she was and to support those who cared so much for her,” family of murdered Memphis woman Eliza Fletcher say in statement.

[8 September 2022 08:30 · Bevan Hurley]

The shocking precautions female runners like me are being forced to take

“So when the news hit that a female jogger had been abducted from a Tennessee street early last Friday morning (we now know that it was Fletcher, a 34-year-old mother of two, and we also know that she was tragically killed) it spread like wildfire amongst the running community on social media,” writes Gemma Abbott for Independent Voices.

“But not purely because this was such shocking and disturbing news. Most people just simply couldn’t believe it had happened – again. Another female runner abducted or assaulted as she went about doing the thing she loved. Sadly, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen news reports of women being attacked while out running in the last few years.”

[8 September 2022 09:30 · Bevan Hurley]

Cleotha Abston’s teenage rape conviction revealed as he is held without bond for murder

Abston, who has requested he be known by his paternal surname Henderson, was convicted of raping a man when he was a teenager – almost three decades before he allegedly kidnapped and murdered Memphis business heiress Eliza Fletcher.

Now 38, he was just 14 years old when he committed a juvenile delinquent act of rape against an unnamed male, according to court documents.

The charge was sustained and the teenager was placed in the custody of Shelby County’s Youth Services Bureau.

Rachel Sharp has the story.

[8 September 2022 10:30 · Bevan Hurley]

Hundreds of women are planning to complete Eliza Fletcher’s run one week on from her murder

“We want to stand up and say it’s OK for women to run at 4 o’clock in the morning and it’s OK for women to run in whatever type of clothing they feel comfortable in,” the organiser of the Let’s Finish Liza’s Run event tells The Independent.

[8 September 2022 11:30 · Bevan Hurley]

Eliza Fletcher: Timeline of events in abduction and murder of Memphis heiress

Memphis police confirmed on Tuesday morning that a body found during an “intensive” city-wide search was positively identified as missing mother of two Eliza Fletcher. Ms Fletcher, 34,was abducted while out jogging near the University of Memphis campus early on Friday morning (2 September) in what police have described as a random attack.

Here is a timeline of events in the case.

[8 September 2022 12:30 · Bevan Hurley]

Footage shows murder suspect Cleotha Abston cleaning SUV after Eliza Fletcher’s murder

Grainy video footage that purportedly shows murder-accused Cleotha Abston cleaning a dark SUV in the hours after Eliza Fletcher was abducted has been obtained by Memphis news network WREG.