A violent criminal has been accused by police of killing missing mother-of-two Eliza Fletcher, whose corpse was discovered in an abandoned elementary school.
After kidnapping the schoolteacher, authorities accused Cleotha Abston, 38, with first-degree murder and first-degree murder in the commission of a kidnapping.
The corpse of the rich heiress was discovered seven miles from where she was last seen, however authorities have not yet determined the exact cause of death.
Following the discovery of the corpse before her alleged murderer, Cleotha Abston, appeared in court in Memphis, Tennessee, today, heartbroken neighbours have detailed their horror.
Abston has not yet been charged with murder despite having previously been accused of abduction and tampering with evidence in connection with her disappearance.
In advance of a court appearance, the Memphis Police Department has cancelled a CityWatch notice it had previously issued for the missing lady.
Around 4.30 am on Friday, the Ultra-runner disappeared while out on a run. This set off a four-day search that took police to various woodland areas all around Memphis.
The corpse was discovered about 100 yards from the Longview Gardens apartment building, where Mario Abston, Abston’s brother, resides.
Six hours after the remains were discovered, a vehicle suspected to be from the medical examiners team departed the area while allegedly carrying the corpse.
A police aircraft was seen hovering above the search in photos taken at the area. The horrifying finding drew a crowd of horrified neighbours to the murder site.
At 7.30 p.m., with the corpse still inside, April Jackson, 30, told DailyMail.com, “It’s emotional, it really hurts.”
Anybody who was out running that morning, a student included, may have been that person. She said, “And he was just just freed from jail for another kidnapping, and he comes out and does it again.
“It makes me feel bad.” When police and a bloodhound were in the area yesterday, a few hundred yards from the corpse, she was out and volunteering to help with the search.
Witnesses were cited in the criminal complaint against Cleotha as having seen the suspect acting oddly and cleaning the carpet of this 2013 GMC Terrain at his brother’s house.
Before allegedly kidnapping rich heiress Eliza, the violent criminal allegedly followed the location where she went missing while running for close to 30 minutes.
A Mario Abston neighbour revealed exclusively to DailyMail.com on Sunday that she had seen the suspect visiting his brother’s home almost daily for the previous month.
Following Fletcher’s abduction on September 2, authorities detained Cleotha Abston, 38, and charged him with exceptionally aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence.
24 minutes prior to the mother-of-abduction two’s in Memphis, Tennessee, at 4:20 a.m., police in Memphis, Tennessee, had surveillance video of the car involved in the incident.
Unreleased surveillance video that the police got shows a guy ‘aggressively’ racing at Fletcher and shoving her into the passenger side of the car.
Following their scuffle, the automobile stayed in the parking lot with Fletcher inside for four minutes before driving off to an unidentified place.
Additional allegations against Abston include identity theft, property theft, and fraudulent use or unlawful possession of a credit or debit card with a value of $1,000 or less.
According to a recent story from the Commercial Appeal, it was discovered that Abston had priors for aggravated assault, aggravated assault with a weapon, and rape, all of which occurred when he was a juvenile.
In the past, police searched Pine Hill Park, Martin Luther King Riverside Park, a nearby pond, and other areas in search of the mother.
Just over two years have passed since Abston’s release from a 20-year sentence for the abduction and robbery of Memphis attorney Kemper Durand in May 2000.
In addition, he had court appearances in 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999 in juvenile court records for offences including stealing, aggravated assault, aggravated assault with a weapon, and rape.
After discovering his DNA on Champion sliders that were abandoned after the altercation with Fletcher, as well as on her water bottle and mobile phone, police were able to locate him.
It is believed that he is refusing to cooperate with authorities, and bail has been set at $500,000.
The kindergarten teacher Fletcher, according to police, was “seriously injured” by Abston, and blood was found inside the car.
His brother Mario Abston, 36, was also detained on Saturday after authorities searched his home after neighbours reported seeing his brother acting “suspiciously.”
He was charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a weapon, having a firearm while committing a violent crime, and possessing controlled narcotics after officers discovered a semi-automatic pistol, a scale, and a bag of heroin and fentanyl.
According to Abston, his brother washed his clothing in the home’s sink while also cleaning the inside of his GMC Terrain with floor cleaner.
Police discovered that Abston’s phone pinged close to the scene of Fletcher’s abduction, and another neighbour corroborated that he was behaving “extremely odd.”
Over the weekend, police hauled a dumpster from a low-income apartment building adjacent to Abston’s brothers.
Authorities discovered the identical black SUV with the broken taillight at Abston’s last known residence. According to the affidavit, Abston was waiting in the doorway when police came; once they arrived, he tried to run but was quickly caught.
Where Fletcher is or what he did to her, Abston has still not revealed. According to the affidavit, blood discovered in Abston’s vehicle and other evidence made authorities think Fletcher had had a “severe injury.”
“The Eliza Fletcher kidnapping inquiry is still open and continuing.” After reporting Abston’s arrest on Sunday, police released a statement in which they said that they were “continuing the search and investigating all leads.”
On Saturday night in Memphis, police could also be spotted looking through trash outside a McDonald’s restaurant in their hunt for the mother and kindergarten instructor.
Police Search crews and sniffer dogs from the Shelby County Sheriff’s office are cooperating near a dumpster close to Mario Abston’s residence. The cops subsequently removed the dumpster.
Fletcher’s family, including her father Beasley, mother Adele, brother Gill, and husband, as well as their attorney Mike Keeney, appeared on video after the finding of the automobile.
In exchange for any information that helps bring Fletcher home safely, they are offering a $50,000 reward.
Keeney said in the statement, “We trust someone knows what occurred and can assist,” and thanked the police for their search efforts.
Fletcher’s spouse lost control of his emotions at this station.
Fitness enthusiast Fletcher, who often ran the same route, had her phone thrown to the ground and broken as a result of the crime.
According to reports, the mother of two is 5-foot-6 and weighs 137 pounds. She has brown hair and green eyes. Pink running shorts and a pink jogging top were the last things seen on her.
The kidnapped lady is the granddaughter of late hardware tycoon Joseph “Joe” Orgill III.
Adele, Fletcher’s mother, is Orgill’s offspring. Orgill Inc., their family-owned wholesale hardware firm, reports $3 billion in yearly sales on its website.
Orgill is said to be “the world’s biggest independent hardline distributor with annual sales of $3 billion” in the business description on the website. The business is privately held.
The firm employs more than 5,500 workers.
As part of their investigation into the puzzling case, police examined a park close to the location where a rich heiress was kidnapped and thrown into a car on Friday.
A neighbour said that Abston was a “pervert” who allegedly crept up behind her and made sex advances.
He treated the other ladies in the complex the same way, and sometimes he would sit in his black SUV and ogle at the women passing by or perched on stoops.
Another neighbour, Latoya, 35, said that the suspect had earlier this year had made advances toward her and her 20-year-old niece.
He continued motioning for me to come closer to him and said, “I’ve got $100,” Latoya told DailyMail.com.
He also made an attempt to apprehend my niece and get her to accompany him inside the flat.
She said, “As far as I know, nobody here has had sex with him.” “He’s incredibly creepy,” someone said.