Man accused of kidnapping and murdering kindergarten teacher Eliza Fletcher pleads guilty

UPI — Cleota Abston, the man accused of murdering Eliza Fletcher (pictured) in September 2022, was sentenced Monday to life in prison without parole for the kidnapping and murder of the kindergarten teacher. Photo courtesy of St. Mary’s Episcopal School/X

October 28 (UPI) — A Tennessee man admitted to abducting and killing a mother of two while she was out for a morning jog in September 2022 and pleaded guilty Monday to a slew of charges, including first-degree murder.

The man, Cleota Abston, was expected to appear in court on February 10, but on Monday he pleaded guilty to murdering Eliza Fletcher, as well as aggravated kidnapping for her kidnapping and tampering with evidence.

A 40-year-old man was sentenced to life without parole. The Shelby County District Attorney’s office described the day of the trial at statement as “the formal conclusion of a case that deeply shook the community.”

“Today’s settlement is final for the family,” County District Attorney Stephen Mulroy said in a statement. second statement. “The defendant waives the right to appeal, so there will be no years and decades of appeals. It also helps the community because this dangerous person will never walk our streets again.”

“He will die in prison.”

Fletcher, 34, taught kindergarten at St. Mary’s Episcopal School in Memphis. She was jogging near the University of Memphis campus on September 4, 2022, when she was abducted around 4:30 am. Authorities said that after a struggle, she was forced into an SUV.

Police announced shortly after Abston was arrested. He was found in a suspicious SUV.

Then the search for Fletcher continued for several days, and her body was found three days after her disappearance. Abston, a convicted felon who was released from prison in November 2020 after serving time for a 2000 kidnapping, was identified as a suspect based on surveillance footage and forensic evidence.

“We have no idea what happened to you to turn you into someone who is so full of the desire to hurt people. Whatever it was, it doesn’t excuse or explain what you did,” Mulroy said Monday during his sentencing, reading a statement written by Fletcher’s family in Abston.

“You changed our lives forever and nothing will ever be the same again. Your actions were evil. There is no other word for it. You killed Lisa even though she did nothing to deserve it. She didn’t hurt you. In fact, she would the first one helped if you needed it.”