A body found dumped in Memphis has been identified as Eliza Fletcher, the heiress who was abducted last week during an early morning jog, Tennessee police confirmed Tuesday.
The teacher, Eliza Fletcher, 34, who also went by Liza, was last seen jogging near the University of Memphis campus at about 4:30 a.m. on Friday when, the police say, she was forced into a dark-colored S.U.V.
Her body was found in a dumpster in South Memphis on Monday afternoon, a day after the police detained Cleotha Abston, 38, who was charged in her disappearance.
READ ALSO ;Fans get in violent fistfight in stands at Clemson and Georgia tech game (video)
The Memphis Police Department said on Tuesday that, in addition to previously announced kidnapping charges, Mr. Abston had been charged with first-degree murder. Mr. Abston had been in the S.U.V. used in the abduction, court records said.
Mr. Abston’s brother Mario Abston, 36, was also arrested over the weekend but was not believed to be connected to the abduction, the police said. Mario Abston faces drug and weapon possession charges.
Ms. Fletcher’s remains were found about seven miles from where she was abducted but just blocks from Mario Abston’s apartment.
Cleotha Abston was convicted in 2001 of especially aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery, also in Tennessee, and was sentenced to 24 years in prison, court records show. He was released in November 2020.
READ ALSO :Mom teaches 5-year-old son what to do during a school shooting (video)
On Friday, officers were dispatched at 7:45 a.m. after Eliza Fletcher husband, Richard Fletcher, reported that she had not returned home, according to court records.
Video surveillance showed that a person exited the S.U.V. when Ms. Fletcher went by, ran toward her and forced her into the passenger’s side of the vehicle. “There appeared to be a struggle,” court records said.
A person who was biking in the area around 6:45 a.m. found Ms. Fletcher’s cellphone and gave it to her family, who turned it over to the police, court records said. The biker also found a pair of shoes in the same area.
The shoes were linked by DNA testing to Mr. Abston, and video evidence also showed him wearing the shoes, court records said. The authorities, relying on cellphone data, tracked Mr. Abston’s phone to near where Ms. Fletcher was forced into the S.U.V.
READ ALSO :Terrifying moment fairground ride crashes 50ft to the ground (video)
Mr. Abston worked for a cleaning service, his employer confirmed to the police. He drives the S.U.V. that was captured in the surveillance footage, the employer also said.
Mr. Abston was at the home of Mario Abston, who said his brother was acting “very strange.” Cleotha Abston washed his clothes in the sink at the house, according to court records.
Mr. Abston’s arraignment was scheduled on Tuesday morning.
Eliza Fletcher grandfather, Joseph Orgill III, was a billionaire who ran Orgill Inc., a hardware distributor based in Memphis. He died in 2018. Ms. Fletcher was an heiress to the company’s fortune.
Ms. Fletcher was a mother of two and a junior kindergarten teacher at St. Mary’s Episcopal School in Memphis.
READ ALSO :Kayjuan Taylor : Woman chased down and shot to death by unknown gunman (video)
Read all the Latest News, Entertainment News and gossips here. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Telegram.
