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Coffee and Crime Time: Eliza Fletcher
Stephanie Harlowe's 72-minute breakdown, the fullest single telling on file.
Watch on YouTubeWhat happened
Eliza Fletcher was a 34-year-old kindergarten teacher and mother of two in Memphis, Tennessee. Before dawn on September 2, 2022, she was running near the University of Memphis when she was forced into a sport-utility vehicle. The abduction prompted a large search and drew sustained attention from the Memphis community. Fletcher's body was found several days later near a vacant duplex. The Shelby County District Attorney's annual report describes the crime as an abduction and murder and records the later prosecution. [Shelby County District Attorney](https://www.scdag.com/s/Annual-Report-2024.pdf)
Investigators connected Cleotha Abston to the abduction after police found sandals near the place where Fletcher was last seen and detected his DNA on them, according to the Associated Press. Abston, who has also used the surname Henderson, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and especially aggravated kidnapping. Prosecutors announced that they would seek the death penalty if the case went to trial and resulted in a first-degree murder conviction. Abston initially pleaded not guilty, and a February 2025 trial date was set before the case was resolved by a plea. [Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/aeefad6e704db0e99535c464ddd27e68)
On October 28, 2024, Abston pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and especially aggravated kidnapping. Court TV reported that the agreement removed the need for the scheduled trial, and the judge imposed life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the murder. The prosecution's annual report likewise identifies the plea and sentencing date and records the life-without-parole outcome. The plea is the legal basis for identifying Abston as convicted and for classifying Fletcher's case as solved. [Court TV](https://www.courttv.com/news/man-pleads-guilty-to-kidnapping-murder-of-heiress-eliza-fletcher/)
The Associated Press reported that Fletcher was grabbed from the street while jogging, forced into a vehicle, and found dead near the vacant property days later. Those facts establish the core sequence without relying on speculation about what occurred between the abduction and recovery. The case record here is limited to Fletcher as the victim and Abston as the person whose guilty pleas resolved the homicide and kidnapping charges. [Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/5a9dff4ab9a9ac9ec2a03e4efaf930e5)
