The place and method of Eliza “Liza” Fletcher’s death has not been announced by authorities yet, but officials have provided a timeline of the key events surrounding her abduction and death.
Fletcher, a 34-year-old junior kindergarten teacher at St. Mary’s Episcopal School in Memphis, was jogging at around 4 a.m. local time (5 a.m. ET) Friday in a neighborhood near the University of Memphis when a man chased her and forced her into a black SUV, authorities said.
Her husband reported her missing that morning, sparking an intense weekend hunt that led to the arrest of a suspect, Cleotha Abston age 38, near his Memphis home Saturday after investigators unearthed clues including surveillance video of the abduction, authorities said in court documents.
Fletcher’s husband told police Friday morning that she’d not returned from her early morning jog, authorities said in an affidavit filed Sunday.
Someone found her phone in the street on Central Avenue that morning, and it was given to one of Fletcher’s relatives, who gave it to investigators, the affidavit reads.
Police then found surveillance video of the area, which shows a black GMC Terrain pass by her, according to the affidavit. A man is seen in the footage getting out of the SUV and “aggressively” running toward her before forcing her into the vehicle’s passenger seat, according to the affidavit.
The SUV remained in a parking lot for about four minutes after both people were inside and then drove away, the affidavit states.
Police also analyzed a pair of sandals that were found at the abduction site, near the victim’s phone. DNA found on the shoes matched DNA for Abston, the affidavit reads.
Surveillance footage captured from a local theater the day before Fletcher’s disappearance showed Abston wearing what authorities believe are the same pair of Champion slide sandals found at the crime scene, according to the affidavit.
Researching Abston’s residence, police found that he lived at a home whose utilities were registered in the name of a woman who owned a GMC Terrain, the court document reads.
Investigators then interviewed Abston’s employer, who said he drove a GMC Terrain and verified his phone number. Investigators checked Abston’s cell phone records, which showed he was near the abduction scene during the time of Fletcher’s kidnapping, according to the affidavit.
Members of a US Marshals task force found a GMC Terrain near Abston’s residence on Saturday morning, and it had the same distinguishable damage and partial license plate information seen in the surveillance footage from Fletcher’s abduction, the affidavit reads.
The task force saw him standing in the doorway of the home, and detained him Saturday, the court document said.
Police have not said what led them to vacant duplex where Fletcher’s body was found. That duplex was in the 1600 block of Victor Street, Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said. That’s about a half-mile drive from the address that authorities gave for his brother’s home, a 7.5-mile drive from the alleged abduction site and about a 15.5-mile drive from his own home.
Then on Tuesday, police identified Fletcher as the person found dead Monday in the rear of the vacant duplex in the Tennessee city.
Abston will be arraigned Wednesday on charges including first-degree murder — adding to kidnapping and other charges he already faced, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said.
