Tennessee man pleads guilty to killing Eliza Fletcher, a mom of 2 jogging in Memphis

Cleotha Abston pleaded guilty Monday to abducting and later killing Fletcher during a morning jog on Sept. 2, 2022. The guilty plea allows him to avoid the death penalty.

A Tennessee man pleaded guilty Monday to kidnapping and killing Memphis mother Eliza Fletcher during her morning jog in 2022.

Cleotha Abston, 40, was able to avoid the death penalty with the guilty plea to first-degree murder and will face life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Fletcher, who was 34 at the time of her death, was abducted while out on a run in the early hours of Sept. 2, 2022. Her body was not found until three days later.

“No legal resolution and no sentence can diminish the anguish of Liza’s murder,” Fletcher’s family said in a statement sent to the news media. “We accept the outcome that her murderer has pled guilty to all charges, will wake up in prison for the rest of his life and cannot harm anyone else. We are very grateful for the determination and professionalism of law enforcement and the district attorney’s office.”

When was Abston arrested?

Abston was arrested on Sept. 3, 2022, a day after Fletcher’s abduction launched a multi-day, multi-agency manhunt across Memphis. He was initially charged with especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence.

Footage from the University of Memphis campus, where Fletcher was taken while on a morning run, showed someone in a dark SUV approach Fletcher and force her into the vehicle after a brief struggle.

First-degree murder and first-degree murder in perpetration of a kidnapping charges were added to Abston’s case a day after Fletcher’s remains were found.

Why did Abston plea guilty?

Abston pleaded guilty to Fletcher’s killing to avoid the death penalty, his attorney, Juni Ganguli, told USA TODAY.

Ganguli and attorney Lauren Pasley both advised Abston to plead guilty due to the mounting evidence against him. Ganguli added that a jury would have likely imposed the death penalty during a sentencing hearing.

“I’ve had other death penalty cases where the prosecution had agreed to sentences of life without parole following the guilt phase of trials,” Ganguli said in his statement. “There was overwhelming publicity and public outcry in this case.”

What was Abston previously convicted of?

Abston was convicted of a 2021 rape over six months before entering the plea on Monday. That rape went unsolved until DNA taken in a rape kit matched Abston.

The trial spanned three days in April, when Abston was indicted for three different counts, aggravated rape, especially aggravated kidnapping and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. The jury convicted him of aggravated rape and convicted felon in possession of a handgun, and found him guilty of the lesser charge of aggravated kidnapping.

Who was Eliza Fletcher?

Fletcher was the mother of two children and a teacher at St. Mary’s Episcopal School. Before working joining St. Mary’s, she taught Kindergarten at Promise Academy in Nashville and also coached soccer.

In 2006, she graduated from Hutchison School in Memphis, according to the all-girl’s school’s website, and later earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science at Baylor University. She earned her masters of art in teaching with an emphasis in elementary education at Belmont University, according to a post from St. Mary’s.

She is also remembered as an avid runner, having run completed the St. Jude marathon in Memphis with a time of 3:26:09. She finished 22nd place out of all the women running the St. Jude marathon that year. Her placement allowed her to qualify for the elite Boston Marathon.

George Robertson, the senior pastor at Second Presbyterian Church, said Fletcher was “full of life.” She married Richard Fletcher III at the church in 2014, according to a 2015 report by Memphis Magazine. The couple shared two sons. 

“She and her husband Ritchie are both very active and great leaders in our congregation,” Robertson told the Commercial Appeal, part of the USA TODAY Network. “They have two little boys who have come up to me every week and give me a hug.” 

In a statement, her family addressed Abston:

“We have no idea what happened to you to turn you into someone so filled with a desire to hurt people. Whatever it was, it does not excuse or explain what you have done. You have changed our lives forever, and nothing will ever be the same,” they said. “Your actions were evil. There is no other word for it. You murdered Liza, even though she did nothing to deserve it.”