That is what I thought. It looks like there is a bit of movement/space between the band and his wrist.
Yeah, something about it doesn't sit right with me. It is as if now that there is a body, they kind of had to fall in line and do the "right" thing.
Well, they knew last September when they had DNA and declined to press charges. Ugh. Ignore this. I'm obviously babbling instead of reading.
Yes, sorry my bad. I just answered it above. I will delete my original post.
I agree completely and to add to this - many public defenders have a calling.
Well, we don't know what time the results were received/read. I am not sure what getting the results back looks like. I also assume that the DA needs to decide what to do with this, not LE? If someone understands how this works, that would be helpful.
Did the victim give any information that could have identified him other than his DNA? For example, did LE have a phone number or vehicle information to link him to the crime? If so, the timeline of the DNA results coming back on 8/29/22 is completely irrelevant IMOWell, they knew last September when they had DNA and declined to press charges. Ugh. Ignore this. I'm obviously babbling instead of reading.
That is kind of what I getting at with my two responses above. I don't know how the DNA results > CODIS > DA/LE action works.
You have got to be kidding me?!!!!! The irony of the timing is almost beyond my comprehension. Had the CODIS results come back just a few days sooner, they could have arrested him. Especially since the theft charges had also just been filed.
So tragic and senseless. The primary job of LE is to keep the public safe, sitting on rape kits for so long endangers the public. I get that it's probably a funding/staffing issue so the question is, how does that change to prevent what happened to Eliza from happening to someone else?
So from this, can we assume the victim did not know CAH? The timing on this is pretty wonky, could the victim have recognized him on the news and called MPD? I'm not trying to draw lines that aren't there, but it's just unbelievable that the results came back in that order.
Thank you for posting this.
I was already wondering what MPDs spending budget looks like.
I am wondering if the victim gave other identifying info. The timing is SO odd. I am wondering if they looked for similar crimes in a certain radius and this popped up.
A TBI spokesperson confirmed the agency received the sexual assault kit September 23, 2021, but the evidence was placed in a "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."
A TBI spokesperson confirmed the agency received the sexual assault kit September 23, 2021, but the evidence was placed in a "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."
The kit was eventually pulled from evidence storage, according to TBI, along with 19 other kits on June 24 and the first results were received August 29. When the 2021 DNA was entered into a national database, it returned a match for Henderson and TBI reported this to MPD.
Henderson's kit was one of 316 submitted to TBI from all Shelby County law enforcement agencies, which was the most of any county in Tennessee. Knox County was in second with 168 kits. A TBI spokesperson further elaborated on the workload the Jackson Crime Lab faces, with a small staff.
"The Jackson Crime Lab's average turnaround times for SAKs (sexual assault kits) ranged from approximately 33 weeks to 49 weeks between September 2021 and August 2022," the statement read. "The length of time to work these cases is attributed to the workload of the four scientists assigned to this unit. These forensic scientists work every biological evidence submission, ranging from homicides to SAKs, to robberies, assaults, and break-ins."
In 2021, those categories totaled 602 evidence submissions. TBI will rush DNA tests when requested by local law enforcement agencies, which they did for Fletcher's abduction, but MPD did not ask for the 2021 sexual assault kit to be rushed.
TBI has one crime lab in West Tennessee, the Jackson Crime Lab. TBI has a field office in Memphis, but it doesn't include a lab for testing evidence.
Man charged in Eliza Fletcher's kidnapping, killing, charged in 2021 case after DNA match
Memphis police say they had the DNA of the man charged in Eliza Fletcher's disappearance and death after a 2021 investigation, but it wasn't testedwww.commercialappeal.com
I like this reporter, by the way. He actually investigates and isn't just reporting canned news!
Lucas Finton-covers breaking news for The Commercial Appeal.
