In a fresh development in the abduction and murder case of billionaire heiress Eliza Fletcher in the US, the accused has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.
Accused Cleotha Abston, who is from Tennessee, admitted in the court to kidnapping Eliza Fletcher, a Memphis school teacher, while she was on an early morning run and then killing her, news agency AP reported.
Fletcher, a school teacher and mother of two, was abducted on September 22, 2022, from a street while she was jogging before dawn near the University of Memphis and forced into an SUV. Her body was found days later near a vacant duplex.
She was the heiress of Orgill Inc., a hardware supply company founded by her grandfather, Joseph Orgill III.
Murder, rape: Accused is a history-sheeter
Abston was arrested after police detected his DNA on sandals found near the location where Fletcher was last seen. An autopsy report showed Fletcher died of a gunshot wound to the head.
The accused was sentenced to 80 years in prison on May 17 for raping a woman in 2017. He was convicted in April of raping the woman while holding her at gunpoint.
Abston, whose history of criminal charges dates back to the 1990s when he was a juvenile, was not charged in the 2021 rape case until after being charged a year later with killing Fletcher because of a long delay in processing the sexual assault kit.
After Fletcher’s death, the Legislature passed a law requiring the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to issue a quarterly report on sexual assault kit testing times.
Massive protests against Eliza Fletcher’s killing
The killing of Eliza Fletcher, a 34-year-old kindergarten teacher shocked the Memphis community and led to a flood of support for her family.
Runners in Memphis and several other cities held early morning running events in her honour a week after she was abducted, a tradition that has continued in the city on the anniversary of her kidnapping.
In a statement, Fletcher’s family said they “miss the bright light of Liza’s life every day.”
“Liza meant so much to so many, and her smile radiated happiness, energy, and comfort,” her family said. “Her husband, her children, her parents, her brother, the rest of her family, her friends, her students, her school families, her fellow teachers, her church community, and so many others were moved by countless examples of her faith, kindness, and compassion,” the AP quoted.
