MEMPHIS, Tenn — The Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office said they are seeing the death penalty for the man charged with kidnapping and killing Eliza Fletcher.
During a hearing in court Thursday, July 6, 2023, Judge Lee Coffee said Shelby County D.A. Steve Mulroy filed notice with the court that prosecutors will seek the death penalty against Cleotha Abston, aka Henderson.
No trial date has been set.
Abston was indicted by a grand jury on Jan. 25, 2023, on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, and tampering with evidence. He pleaded not guilty during his arraignment Friday, Feb. 3, 2023.
In a statement, the D.A. said, "The decision comes after careful consideration and conducting a detailed legal review of the facts and circumstances of the case. Before filing the notice, DA Mulroy and members of his team met with Mrs. Fletcher's family regarding this decision. The family supports filing the death penalty notice and is determined to see that justice is served.
'This is not a decision taken lightly nor as a matter of course,' said DA Mulroy. 'It is a grave decision involving a punishment I've publicly opposed as a policy matter. But as DA I must enforce the law despite personal opinion. After careful consideration of the facts in this case and similar cases, I believe this is what justice demands.'
Under the law, any first-degree murder conviction is eligible for the death penalty if one or more statutorily defined aggravating factors are present. In this case, the SCDAG Office has identified three such aggravating factors alleged to be present (TCA 39-13-204(i)):
- The defendant was previously convicted of one (1) or more felonies, other than the present charge, whose statutory elements involve the use of violence to the person;
- The murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel in that it involved torture or serious physical abuse beyond that necessary to produce death;
- The murder was knowingly committed, solicited, directed, or aided by the defendant, while the defendant had a substantial role in committing or attempting to commit, or was fleeing after having a substantial role in committing or attempting to commit, any first-degree murder, arson, rape, robbery, burglary, theft, kidnapping, aircraft piracy, or unlawful throwing, placing or discharging of a destructive device or bomb;
The SCDAG Office conducted a thorough review and comparison of the facts of this crime to those of other Tennessee cases in which death verdicts were sustained. Additionally, there was a comparison to the facts and circumstances of all other Shelby County First-Degree Murder/Kidnapping cases within the last ten years."
Abston also faces additional charges in other cases, including aggravated rape and kidnapping from a separate case last year. He also faces charges of identity theft and of being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun in other cases.
Judge Lee Coffee is hearing the different cases against Abston in one courtroom, and Jennifer Case, who is his court-appointed public defender, is representing him in all the cases.
Fletcher, a local school teacher, 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.
U.S. Marshals arrested him a day after the abduction after police said they detected his DNA on a pair of sandals found near where Fletcher was last seen, according to an arrest affidavit.
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.
Abston also previously kidnapped a prominent Memphis attorney in 2000 when he was 16-years-old. He spent 20 years in prison for that crime.