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Eliza Fletcher at game with husband

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace: DEATH PENALTY SOUGHT FOR PERV IN MEMPHIS-MOM-JOGGER MURDER

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Tennessee prosecutors are seeking the death penalty Cleotha Abston, also known as Cleotha Henderson. He is charged with kidnapping and killing Memphis teacher Eliza Fletcher.

Fletcher vanished while out on her morning run. Neighborhood video captured images of Fletcher being forced into an SUV. The kindergarten teacher’s body was found days later near a vacant house less than a mile from the kidnapping site.

Officers combing the area noticed footprints, tire tracks and “an odor of decay.” A pair of purple Lululemon running shorts matching what Fletcher was last seen wearing, was found in a nearby trash can.

Abston, 39, is also charged with the rape of a woman in September 2021, but he was not arrested until after Fletcher’s killing because the state crime lab hadn’t gotten around to processing the sexual assault kit.

Abston has pled not guilty.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

Matthew Mangino – Attorney, Former District Attorney (Lawrence County); Author: “The Executioner’s Toll: The Crimes, Arrests, Trials, Appeals, Last Meals, Final Words and Executions of 46 Persons in the United States”
Caryn L. Stark – Psychologist, Renowned TV and Radio Trauma Expert and Consultant; Instagram: carynpsych/FB: Caryn Stark Private Practice
Lisa M. Dadio – Former Police Lieutenant, New Haven Police Department; Senior Lecturer & Director of the Center for Advanced Policing University of New Haven’s Forensic Science Department
Rachel D. Fischer – Registered Nurse; Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE); Expert Witness; Private Investigator; Author: “Taking Back the Pen;” Forensic Nursing Consulting and Education LLC
Dr. Kristen Mittelman – Chief Development Officer, Othram Inc.; Twitter: @OthramTech
Dave Mack – Crime Online Investigative Reporter

“Crime Stories with Nancy Grace” on Fox Nation is also a national radio show on SiriusXM channel 111, airing for two hours daily starting at 12 p.m. EST. You can also subscribe and download the daily podcasts at iHeart Podcasts.

[Feature Photo: Eliza and Ritchie Fletcher/Facebook]