Body found in search for Eliza Fletcher is confirmed to be the missing Memphis business heiress
Cleotha Abston, the convicted kidnapper charged with her abduction and murder, appeared in court for the first time on Tuesday morning
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The body found in the search for Eliza Fletcher has been confirmed to be that of the missing Memphis business heiress.
Memphis Police made the tragic announcement on Tuesday morning, just hours after human remains were discovered less than a mile from the home of the brother of her alleged killer Cleotha Abston.
Abston, who has a prior kidnapping conviction, had been spotted by multiple witnesses cleaning his vehicle and clothes at the property in the hours after the 34-year-old mother-of-two was snatched from the street.
Law enforcement officers combed the area around the house throughout the day on Monday and were spotted seizing a dumpster and removing bags of evidence from the property in South Memphis.
The three-day search to find the missing kindergarten teacher and granddaughter of the Orgill hardware empire then came to a tragic end that afternoon when police located her body in the long grass behind a vacant apartment on the 1600 block of Victor.
Officers had spotted vehicle tracks and noticed the smell of decay at the rear of the vacant property, according to the affidavit which was updated on Tuesday.
They then found Ms Fletcher’s body close to some outside steps at around 5.07pm.
Soon after, the 34-year-old’s purple Lululemon running shorts were found nearby in a discarded trash bag.
Abston’s vehicle was captured on several surveillance cameras driving towards the dump site around an hour after the victim was violently abducted on Friday morning, the affidavit says. The car turned onto the street where her body was found at around 5.52am.
Law enforcement said it was “too early” to determine the cause of death and it remains unclear if Ms Fletcher was murdered at the residence or if her body was dumped there after her death.
Abston, a 38-year-old convicted kidnapper who was released from prison less than two years ago over the 2000 abduction of a Memphis attorney, has now been charged with first-degree murder and first-degree murder in perpetration of kidnapping.
He appeared for his first court appearance over the violent attack on Tuesday morning.
Abston was first arrested on Saturday and charged with especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence. His bond was set at $500,000.
On Monday, he was then slapped with fresh charges of identity theft, theft of property under $1,000 and fraudulent use of a credit card. Those charges are unrelated to Ms Fletcher’s violent abduction and he was held on an additional $10,000 bond.
The suspect strolled into Shelby Circuit Court dressed in prison garb and a Covid-19 face mask, where he was appointed a public defender.
Abston appeared in court on the two separate cases – the first charged with especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence in Ms Fletcher’s kidnapping and the second on the three theft counts.
A second court appearance was arranged for 9am local time on Wednesday as the judge learned that murder charges had been filed moments before the hearing. Abston will be arraigned on the murder charges then.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis said in a press conference on Tuesday that it marked a “very sad day in the city of Memphis” but that she was pleased to have taken “this dangerous predator off the streets of Memphis”.
She described the murder as “tragic and heinous” as officials said the influential Orgill family requested privacy at this time.
Ms Fletcher was snatched while out on her regular early morning jog near the University of Memphis campus on Friday.
At around 4.20am, surveillance footage captured a black 2013 GMC Terrain SUV driving past her as she ran through the area.
The SUV pulled up and a man was seen getting out of it, before he “ran aggressively” toward the jogger.
A violent struggle broke out and the man forced Ms Fletcher into the passenger side of the vehicle.
The car then remained stationary in a parking lot with the two inside for around four minutes before driving off, police said the footage shows.
Ms Fletcher’s family reported her missing when she failed to return home from her run. The jogger’s cellphone and water bottle were discovered at the site of her abduction.
Investigators also found a pair of Champion slide shoes – believed to belong to Abston – which were left behind in the struggle.
Surveillance footage captured the same SUV stalking the area where Ms Fletcher was taken just 24 minutes before the kidnapping unfolded.
The net closed in on Abston when investigators found DNA on the slides matched that of the 38-year-old, according to an affidavit.
Surveillance footage also appeared to show the suspect wearing the same shoes days earlier and cellphone data also placed him at the scene of the abduction, the affidavit said.
On Saturday, US Marshals then found an SUV with the same damaged taillight and partial licence plate identification seen in the surveillance footage in a parking lot close to Abston’s home, according to an affidavit.
When officers found Abston nearby, he tried to flee, but he was arrested on the scene – around 24 hours on from the teacher’s abduction.
On Sunday, Memphis Police announced that he had been charged with especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence.
According to the affidavit, a witness and the suspect’s brother Mario Abston spotted Abston cleaning the inside of his car and washing his clothes in the sink in the hours after the abduction took place.
The witness also said they saw him behaving oddly at the house.
Even after the clean, authorities were able to recover evidence from inside the vehicle, which led them to believe Ms Fletcher had suffered a “serious injury”.
However, Abston refused to cooperate with the police investigation or give up Ms Fletcher’s whereabouts, according to the affidavit.
No motive has been given and it is not clear if the victim was targeted or randomly attacked.
However, Abston has a prior kidnapping conviction and was released from prison less than two years ago after serving 20 years behind bars.
In an eerily similar situation to the kidnapping of Ms Fletcher, Abston bundled a Memphis attorney into his vehicle in an early morning attack.
On 24 May 2000, at around 2am, Abston and an accomplice approached Kemper Durand in his vehicle, got out and forced the attorney into the trunk of his car. They then drove the victim around for several hours before taking him to an ATM where they robbed him.
The victim was saved when he shouted for help from a passer-by, prompting his attackers to flee.
Abston pleaded guilty in 2001 to especially aggravated kidnapping and was sentenced to 24 years in prison.
He was released in November 2020, after serving 19 years.
Following the police search of his home on Saturday, his brother Mario was also arrested and charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin, one count with intent to distribute fentanyl and felony possession of a firearm.
Ms Fletcher is the granddaughter of the late local businessman and philanthropist Joseph “Joe” Orgill III, who founded the Memphis hardware supply company Orgill.
The private, family-ran business is now worth $3.2bn with the company website describing it as the “world’s largest independently owned hardlines distributor, providing retailers across North America and in more than 60 countries throughout the world access to over 75,000 products and industry-leading retail services”.
Her family offered $50,000 for her return and begged for help in finding her in an emotional press conference on Saturday.