Found Deceased TN - Eliza "Liza" Fletcher Abducted While Jogging Near University of Memphis #2

[crussell821]

I think you are probably correct. Broken world we live in. I think we peaked as a country in the 50's

Terrible, terrible things happened in the 1950’s as well. Information is just disseminated more quickly and thoroughly now so it seems like things are worse, IMO.

 

[sophiafox]

So was Cleotha the "nice kidnapper" described in this article, or the other guy, the main instigator?

he was the main guy. The other one was like 17 and had begged for pookie to let them man go. The guy kidnapped showed up at his sentencing hearing asking for that to be taken into consideration

 

[Knox]

The affidavit just posted above states that he passed her in the GMC and then stopped and waited for her to run by..sounds impulsive..and not premeditated, MOO

What parking lot did he sit in for four minutes after he put Eliza in the car? I don't want to imagine what he was doing.
3876 Central is here, swivel the map and you're right at the intersection of Central & Zach H Curlin 3876 Central Ave · 3876 Central Ave, Memphis, TN 38152

So let's say the abduction happened at apprx. 4:45 AM. He was back at his brothers house at 7:50 AM cleaning the car. That's about a three hour window. Is his brothers house near the McDonalds? What about Overton Park? Where did he take her?

I chuckled a bit about the champion slides that did him in, so to speak. Aren't those what inmates wear in prison? This guy was not a bright bulb at all, thank God.

 

[OldCop]

Thank goodness that bike rider stopped to pick up the phone and slides and took them to a family member. This was crucial to getting the clock started and raising an alarm.

I’m so glad he found them. I only wish he had left them where he found them and requested that LE come to retrieve them while he stood by. We are lucky we have video footage showing the attack which corroborates the evidence found at the scene.
We do not want to give defense attorneys fodder for a SODDI defense.

 

[tokyorose]

<modsnip> there is video footage of the dumpster being hauled away and followed by a police car. So it would seem they found something...

different dumpster.. the one being hauled away is outside the home of Cleotha's brother not McDonald's

 

[kspoon45]

It was said that she was an early bird and was atheletic so it means that she went for a run everyday. So may be CA was closely monitoring her since the time i.e 4 was one wherein he could easily abduct her without anyone witnessing it.

I doubt this, as CA was wearing sandals at the time she was abducted. It seems more like a crime of opportunity to me, unfortunately.

 

[Li'l Brick Condo]

different dumpster.. the one being hauled away is outside the home of Cleotha's brother not McDonald's

Ohhhhhh... thank you for this correction!

 

[Slamalam]

different dumpster.. the one being hauled away is outside the home of Cleotha's brother not McDonald's

I wonder if Cleotha’s “attempted to be washed” clothes are in there, floor mats from the car, weapon, other evidence…?

 

[Sundog]

That is unbelievably awful. Poor Eliza. I have no words.

She fought hard.
She had no chance.

 

[sds71]

Brad Broders

@BradBrodersTV


A TDOC spokesperson also just emailed me about previous 2000/2001 kidnapping/robbery conviction/sentencing for Cleotha Abston: “He served his sentence. He received some credits for the time he was in jail and completing programs but he did not receive parole.”

 

[Knox]

According to the affadavit they were his sandals (slides) and it was from DNA on the sandals that they identified the perp. They also tracked down video from the day before with him wearing the sandals. They must have come off his feet during the struggle, or he kicked them off as he ran at her.

It sounded like the video was from a movie theatre, so he must have cleaned there the day before - MOO

 

[steeltowngirl]

What parking lot did he sit in for four minutes after he put Eliza in the car? I don't want to imagine what he was doing.
3876 Central is here, swivel the map and you're right at the intersection of Central & Zach H Curlin 3876 Central Ave · 3876 Central Ave, Memphis, TN 38152

So let's say the abduction happened at apprx. 4:45 AM. He was back at his brothers house at 7:50 AM cleaning the car. That's about a three hour window. Is his brothers house near the McDonalds? What about Overton Park? Where did he take her?

I chuckled a bit about the champion slides that did him in, so to speak. Aren't those what inmates wear in prison? This guy was not a bright bulb at all, thank God.

I mapped it out at, it’s about 10 miles from Mario’s house to McDonalds / Family Dollar on Quince-Perkins where we saw the police last night by a dumpster. Confusing. Are there two dumpsters involved? Ugh.

Family Dollar to 1700 S Orleans St

maps.app.goo.gl

 

[bestill]

If he is a commercial cleaner he could have knowledge of several available dumpsters and hopefully they will have cameras. JMO

 

[Sundog]

I don't give him credit for doing any thinking at all. He saw an opportunity and took it, didn't really care who she was, MOO

And he was hanging around the campus of a university, probably looking for an opportunity.

Laying in wait.

 

[Betty P]

Terrible, terrible things happened in the 1950’s as well. Information is just disseminated more quickly and thoroughly now so it seems like things are worse, IMO.

Agree. If anyone has a subscription to Newspapers.com, do some searching for crimes in that time. You have to look at the murder and violent crime rate as per capita, based on the number of people. Check the Cold Case and Missing Persons forums here for that time period.

Kidnapping was very much a thing during the 20's through the 60's. In the earlier days, people did it for ransom.

 

[EllaMae]

This crime is reminiscent of the Mollie Tibbetts murder. I wonder if a couple ninjas made this guy do it, too.

It reminds me more of Aniah Blanchard. A perp who had a long record, a prior kidnapping charge, violent.....and a victim who fought very hard for her life. There was a lot of blood in Aniah's car as well. In Aniah's case LE also knew who they were looking for pretty early in the case because they had video.

 

[otto]

What parking lot did he sit in for four minutes after he put Eliza in the car? I don't want to imagine what he was doing.
3876 Central is here, swivel the map and you're right at the intersection of Central & Zach H Curlin 3876 Central Ave · 3876 Central Ave, Memphis, TN 38152

So let's say the abduction happened at apprx. 4:45 AM. He was back at his brothers house at 7:50 AM cleaning the car. That's about a three hour window. Is his brothers house near the McDonalds? What about Overton Park? Where did he take her?

I chuckled a bit about the champion slides that did him in, so to speak. Aren't those what inmates wear in prison? This guy was not a bright bulb at all, thank God.

The vehicle and CCTV camera were most likely in the same parking lot. She was grabbed in the middle of the street at 4:20 AM. She probably saw him from some distance and tried to cross the street to avoid him. Per the affidavit he ran towards her and grabbed her. After a struggle, she was taken to his vehicle.

The alternative is that he was parked in the church parking lot, but there are no houses across the street ... and her belongings were found in front of a house. It has also been published that the vehicle was across the street from where her belongings were found. (Heavy 5 facts, linked upthread)

The 4 minutes he spent with her before leaving the parking lot - she was subdued, not murdered. Three hours later, he was cleaning up.

 

[Knox]

I mapped it out at, it’s about 10 miles from Mario’s house to McDonalds / Family Dollar on Quince-Perkins where we saw the police last night by a dumpster. Confusing. Are there two dumpsters involved? Ugh.

Family Dollar to 1700 S Orleans St

maps.app.goo.gl

What do you think about the known timelines? The bike rider found the phone & slides at 6:45 AM. What time did he grab Eliza?

 

[Knox]

And he was hanging around the campus of a university, probably looking for an opportunity.

Laying in wait.

Police said surveillance footage showed a man violently and quickly approach Fletcher before forcing her into the passenger side of a GMC Terrain with passenger-side tail light damage.

According to police records, the vehicle sat in the parking lot for 4 minutes before driving away. Records also state the GMC Terrain in question was seen 24 minutes before the abduction in surveillance footage.

Eliza Fletcher abduction: new details emerge

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — WREG has obtained a copy of the affidavit in Eliza Fletcher’s abduction. Police records indicate the abduction was violent and caught on camera. Fletcher is the grandd…

wreg.com

 

[LauraAnne]

You can register to see it at the link below.

Shelby County Criminal Justice Portal:
Shelby County Criminal Justice System Portal

Wow. I'm not sure I've ever seen a completely unredacted affidavit like that one. So Abston was done with the crime by 7:50, when he was busy washing his clothing in his brother's sink.