<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0rRgeO_0wPeCqEw00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0rRgeO_0wPeCqEw00" width="1242" height="828" ><figcaption>Cleotha Abston-Henderson, the man charged with the abduction and killing of Eliza Fletcher, listens to Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Lee V. Coffee during a court appearance in which Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy announced that his office would seek the death penalty in the case against Abston-Henderson at the Shelby County Criminal Court in Memphis, Tenn., on Thursday, July 6, 2023.</figcaption></figure>Cleotha Abston, the man authorities said abducted and later killed Memphis teacher Eliza Fletcher while she was out on a run in the early hours of Sept. 2, 2022, has pleaded guilty, her family said.The plea follows just over two years of criminal litigation and will allow Abston to avoid the death penalty.He was charged with first-degree murder, especially aggravated kidnapping, unlawful possession of a firearm and tampering with evidence when he was first arrested in connection with Fletcher's abduction.Instead of the death penalty, which Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy announced his office was seeking in the case, Abston will face life in prison without the possibility of parole, the DA's office said in a statement."No legal resolution and no sentence can diminish the anguish of Liza's murder," Fletcher's family said in a statement sent to 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. We especially want to recognize Deputy District Attorney Paul Hagerman for his tireless work on Liza's behalf."Fletcher's abduction launched a multi-day, multi-agency manhunt across Memphis. Footage from the University of Memphis campus, where she was taken while on a morning run, showed someone in a dark SUV approached Fletcher and forced her into the vehicle after a brief struggle.Abston was arrested a day after Fletcher's abduction. He was initially charged with especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence. Fletcher's body was not found until Sept. 5, three days after she was abducted. 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.Fletcher, 34 at the time of her death, was the mother of two children, a teacher at St. Mary's Episcopal School and was described as an avid runner.She graduated from Hutchison School in 2006, according to the all-girl's school's website, and 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.Abston was convicted of a 2021 rape over six months before entering the plea Monday. That rape went unsolved until DNA taken in a rape kit tagged Abston in CODIS, a national DNA database.Lucas Finton is a criminal justice reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com, or (901)208-3922, and followed on X, formerly known as Twitter, @LucasFinton.This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Cleotha Abston pleads guilty in killing of Memphis teacher Eliza Fletcher</div></body>

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Cleotha Abston, man accused of kidnapping and killing Eliza Fletcher, pleads guilty

Cleotha Abston, the man authorities said abducted and later killed Memphis teacher Eliza Fletcher while she was out on a run in the early hours of Sept. 2, 2022, has pleaded guilty, her family said. The plea follows just over two years of criminal litigation and will allow Abston to...