Police Believe Eliza Fletcher Suffered Severe Injury, Man Charged In Kidnapping Her

On Sept 2nd, at around 4:30 a.m., Eliza Fletcher [pictured] went missing after a jog near the University of Memphis campus. The 34-Year-Old was a teacher at St. Mary’s Episcopal School, and luckily, a man had reportedly found her cellphone and that of her abductor sandals lying in the street. 

Following investigations, the Memphis Police Department has arrested Cleotha Abston. 

As per the affidavit, Abston’s DNA was found on the sandals, and surveillance footage, from the Malco Theater on Germantown Parkway, showed the 38-Year-Old wearing the same sandals the day before the abduction. Police also contacted the cleaning service they believe Abston worked, and the owner indeed gave out his information. 

He is now charged with especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with a bond of $500,000. 

Investigators had used his cellphone records to determine he was near 3876 Central Avenue during Fletcher’s abduction. Police reportedly interviewed a witness and stated that Abston went to his brother’s house around 10 a.m. on Friday. The witness alleged they saw Abston cleaning the inside of the GMC Terrain with the floor cleaner and stated he was behaving oddly. 

Police further alleged that Abston’s brother also saw him washing his clothes in the sink of the house and acted very strange. 

However, he’s set to appear in court on September 6th, and according to the affidavit, a U.S. Marshals task force had visited the address, saw the vehicle and Abston standing in the doorway. He attempted to flee but was instantly captured. It’s unknown if Abston had told the police where to find Fletcher but the physical evidence led them to believe she suffered severe injury.