New details have emerged about more alleged crimes committed by the suspect in Eliza Fletcher’s brutal kidnapping and murder.
Cleotha Abston has been charged separately in an aggravated rape and aggravated kidnapping case stemming from September 2021. He is also charged in that case with unlawful carrying or possession of a weapon.
That news broke after a rape kit from the incident found DNA that matched Abston’s.
The Memphis Police Department (MPD) said it did not receive a hit on Abston’s DNA until after Fletcher’s murder, despite the alleged 2001 crimes.
“An official CODIS hit was not received until after the unfortunate event that occurred on September 2, 2022,” MPD said. “Probable cause to make a physical arrest of any suspect did not exist until after the CODIS hit had been received.”
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said that “… the evidence was put into the queue of unknown assailant kits, as no request was made for TBI analysis to be expedited, and no suspect information or DNA standard was included in the submission.”
But those are not the only new charges Abston is facing in addition to first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping charges in the Fletcher case.
He was also hit with charges for theft. Police say he stole the wallet of a gas station worker sometime around Fletcher’s abduction. He allegedly used the credit cards from the wallet to purchase $910 worth of items.
Abston has a lengthy criminal history, dating back to age 11. He has spent more than half of his life – at least 20 of 38 years – in prison.
He spent 20 years in prison for kidnapping attorney Kemper Durand, whom he forced into the trunk of a car. He also forced Durand to use his personal bank card to withdraw money for Abston at an ATM.
He was released from prison in 2018.
Abston also goes by the name Cleotha Henderson, and asked the judge for formal court documents to list him as such.
The court agreed to list him as Cleotha Abston Henderson.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Courtroom” by Clyde Robinson. CC BY 2.0.
