Found Deceased TN - Eliza "Liza" Fletcher, 34, Abducted While Jogging, Memphis, 2022 *arrest* #5

[KonaHonu]

I wonder if her family will sue?

I think they need to sue if only to hold the city accountable. The only possible reason I can think of to NOT test rape kits is the expense. Someone needs to make it far more expensive to not test!

 

[FlamingoLady]

My god...this guy has been free on the streets for such a small percentage of his life but manages to do such irreparable harm....But despite the forensic evidence (blood, bodily fluids etc...) being collected, he still roams free.

 

[tlcya]

LE did a phenomenal job out of the gate when Eliza went missing. They acted quickly, they followed the leads available to them and arrested the accused quickly. It is not my intention to deny them that credit with my concerns about the DNA. But what happens after the LE investigators do their job? The justice system depends not just on LE, but on labs and qualified individuals to handle all the forensics. If those labs are not functioning as they should then it's only a matter of time before the whole of the system fails.

I don't know if a lawsuit by Eliza's family is the answer but I sure would like to know that something is going to be done about that backlog. Evidence is only useful if it can be and IS used.

Some poor rape victim has been waiting for someone to care enough about HER case to test that 2021 sample and run it against known bad actors in CODIS. Why wasn't her case a big enough priority? I am hopeful that this will cause conversation with those who can maybe affect change in the way things may be being done right now. So that in addition to runs, Eliza, in death, can be the impetus for improvement in the services that are so important to helping LE solve violent crimes.

 

[waldojabba]

Wow… yes, it’s violent and is bad enough on it’s own and can traumatize for a lifetime but even worse than that the violence can escalate.

Imo If the majority of rapes were happening to men, with the same incidence they happen to women, you can bet the “system” would change pretty quickly.

 

[Sabex]

Re: rape kit backlog

I take it rape kits are tested by private companies? I don't get why they'd let a backlog like this build up.

If I'm looking at a two year backlog of work, then I'm buying more machines and hiring more people as required.

For example, if I double the amount of test equipment I can make more money PCM that way. The capital expenditure can me amortized, and I can make 180% (example only) more money per month.

Source: was a production manager, basic monetary theory applies.

<modsnip - not an approved source>

 

[KonaHonu]

Right. What we have seen here are two different extremes - how very slow the wheels can turn, and how incredibly quickly. That the rape kit from last year was processed and produced results in about a year, and the sandals were processed and produced results in about two days - making the two results of the two assaults to come back virtually simultaneously even though the crimes were committed virtually a year apart is telling. I guess in the case of the prior rape, they had a living victim and the crime was over and done, and in the Eliza case they were seeking to locate a missing woman, so time was much more critical. That's all I can think of.

You left out race and wealth. Not saying we know those to be factors but would anyone actuaally be surprised if we learn they were?

 

[KonaHonu]

Re: rape kit backlog

I take it rape kits are tested by private companies? I don't get why they'd let a backlog like this build up.

If I'm looking at a two year backlog of work, then I'm buying more machines and hiring more people as required.

For example, if I double the amount of test equipment I can make more money PCM that way. The capital expenditure can me amortized, and I can make 180% (example only) more money per month.

Source: was a production manager, basic monetary theory applies.

When to invest in new equipment

The trouble with clearing a backlog is that there is no long term market for a high level of SAK testing (thankfully). But there are major backlog right now around the country and I think we should be doing much more to clear the backlog.

 

[waldojabba]

I used to work at one of the largest diagnostic companies in the world and I have also separately, after I left the company, actively advocated my state legislature for funds for testing the backlog. There is no problem whatsoever with lab capacity -- the large reference labs have the capabilities and the required certifications and could end the backlog very quickly and at the same, or lower, cost as the state labs.

Literally the only thing lacking is for those in power to care enough to allocate the money.

This is one of the best articles on the subject: An Epidemic of Disbelief

Thanks for posting this. The entire article is worth reading but it boils down to men in charge not believing women imo.
A quote from the article “What the researchers found is a subterranean river of chauvinism, where the fate of a rape case usually depends on the detective’s or (less often) prosecutor’s view of the victim—not the alleged perpetrator.”
Instead of doing their job they shelve/warehouse the rape kit and make themselves the judge and jury. Unconscionable as well as deeply disturbing. Imo

 

[KonaHonu]

Crime laboratories have increased their capacity significantly, but they are not able to eliminate backlogs because the demand continues to exceed the increases made in capacity. Also, federal funding programs to reduce backlogs in crime laboratories are not designed to address untested evidence stored in law enforcement agencies. The issue with rape kit backlogs is little different than other forms of forensic casework backlogs. The backlog of untested rape kits is due in part to the volume of rape kits and lack of capacity for crime labs to process them, but another significant factor is that police agencies haven’t sent many of the kits for testing. For example, if the detective investigating the sexual assault doesn’t believe the case is strong enough to move forward with prosecution or if the case resolves early in the process with a plea bargain, the rape kit might never be sent for testing. Instead, the kits remained in police storage.

While what you say might be true, it is not an excuse. Police should be required to promptly test ALL rape kits. They should not have the authority to choose not to for any reason.

 

[KonaHonu]

Yeah, I expect the State to seek the DP here and this lowlife will probably plead guilty for LWOP. They have enough evidence to convict him already IMO. The video showing the abduction, him cleaning out his truck, his phone pings, etc.

It makes me furious all over again.

MOO

I predict that the DA will seek the death penalty and there will be no plea bargaining. They have a mountain of evidence.

 

[Jenesaisquoi]

And would Eliza’s family be able to veto a DP, if they were so inclined (eg perhaps it goes against their Christian beliefs?)

 

[KonaHonu]

And would Eliza’s family be able to veto a DP, if they were so inclined (eg perhaps it goes against their Christian beliefs?)

If the victim's family did not want the DA to seek the DP I think that should be respected.

 

[balharbour]

I think I get the sequencing of events but not 100% sure. I don't think there was DNA collection back when this <modsnip - derogatory nicknames/namecalling not permitted> (can't say his name) was first accused of rape when he was 14. Then a woman comes forward in 2021 and the rape kit is administered but they still don't have <modsnip - derogatory nicknames/namecalling not permitted> DNA until then. Ok, now they do. Then poor Liza is a match. Am I right on the timing of all of this horror?

 

[Only4Justice]

My God, this guy should have never been out on the streets. I wish there was a crying emoji

 

[jennieohhh]

This news about new charges is so disturbing! MPD is probably spending the weekend scrambling to figure out what to say.

Or the district attorney. The MPD don't bring charges.

 

[BeckyF]

Or the district attorney. The MPD don't bring charges.

No but maybe MPD didn’t present evidence to the DA.

 

[Marysmith]

Or the district attorney. The MPD don't bring charges.

I thought they do bring charges and then the DA decides if they will proceed?
Regardless the MPD were given the perp’s name and information in 2021 and they had a line up but his hair had changed and they were supposed to follow up and didn’t.

 

[mewmew]

I wonder if it is because men don’t always believe that women were raped. They might tend to think sex was consensual, and now the lady is angry with the guy because he dropped her. They project own experiences, own feelings, onto these cases. I think women are more sensitive in these matters, but in general, victim-blaming and even more, victim-distrust, are prevalent in the society.

Yes. I think you’re exactly right. With my case, I was a teenager and so was my attacker, and I was told to drop it because it was probably a misunderstanding and he probably thought it was consensual. I was also told it wouldn’t hold up in court because I had a “reputation” as a party girl. Less than a year later he had another victim. She was told the same.

That was nearly 20 years ago now. I had hoped times had changed but it appears not. It still isn’t taken as seriously as it should be, IMO. And some people pay for it with their life.

 

[BeckyF]

You left out race and wealth. Not saying we know those to be factors but would anyone actuaally be surprised if we learn they were?

I for one don’t believe that for a second.

 

[CharlestonGal]

I think I get the sequencing of events but not 100% sure. I don't think there was DNA collection back when this <modsnip - derogatory nicknames/namecalling not permitted> (can't say his name) was first accused of rape when he was 14. Then a woman comes forward in 2021 and the rape kit is administered but they still don't have <modsnip - derogatory nicknames/namecalling not permitted> DNA until then. Ok, now they do. Then poor Liza is a match. Am I right on the timing of all of this horror?

The offender's DNA was already in CODIS the day Eliza was abducted. They sent the shoes found at the scene for DNA testing and matched it to the offender within 18 hours. So his DNA was already in the system when he abducted Eliza.

TBI is not answering questions about when, why or how the offender's DNA was registered in CODIS. Legally, TN requires DNA swabs for all felons. jmo

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwik-tGL0pD6AhXAhIkEHdaEBaIQFnoECAwQAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncsl.org%2Fportals%2F1%2Fdocuments%2Fcj%2Fdna%2Ftennessee.pdf&usg=AOvVaw33PQAMskLhjJPGqSOQYQby