MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The man accused of killing Eliza Fletcher appeared in court Friday, Dec. 9, 2022, for a report date on an unrelated case.
Cleotha Abston faces charges of aggravated rape and kidnapping from a separate case last year. He is due back in court on that charge on Feb. 3, 2023.
After he was charged with killing Fletcher, Abston was charged with raping a woman in September 2021 — about a year before Fletcher was killed. He was not arrested on rape charges before Fletcher's killing because evidence from a sexual assault kit test had not been available at the time, authorities have said.
Fletcher was running on the University of Memphis campus when police said she was forced into a vehicle after a struggle about 4 a.m. Sept 2, 2022. Investigators said her body was found Sept. 5 behind a vacant home after a massive search lasting more than three days.
Abston, who also has gone by the name Cleotha Henderson, has been charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping in the Fletcher case. U.S. Marshals arrested him a day after the abduction after police detected his DNA on a pair of sandals found near where Fletcher was last seen, according to an arrest affidavit.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
