Victims accuse city officials of ‘pattern of false statements’ in rape kit lawsuit
In a legal twist in Memphis’ rape kit lawsuit, victims cite new evidence about DNA testing that could have been used to solve sexual assaults by strangers.
Marc Perrusquia
Investigative Reporter
There are 101 articles by Marc Perrusquia :
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December 2022
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Criminal Justice
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November 2022
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Criminal Justice Should Memphis build its own crime lab or wait on TBI staffing and pay reforms?
As the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation seeks millions of dollars to boost pay and fill crime lab staffing shortages, Memphis leaders look for answers in Nashville, Houston and other cities that built their own crime labs.
Related story:
A tale of two cities: How Nashville built the crime lab that Memphis couldn’t
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Criminal Justice A tale of two cities: How Nashville built a crime lab Memphis couldn’t
Following the murder of Eliza Fletcher, questions loom about MPD’s systems in investigating violent crime.
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October 2022
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Criminal Justice Ex-detective’s testimony hangs in balance in rape kit lawsuit
As rape survivors pursue a lawsuit accusing the Memphis Police Department of negligence, the city is asking a judge to exclude testimony of a former sex crimes detective who claims MPD failed to properly investigate numbers of cases.
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Criminal Justice ‘I want justice’ — rape victims have their day in court
Several sexual assault survivors showed up Thursday at the Shelby County Courthouse to listen to arguments in a lawsuit accusing MPD of negligence in the handling of thousands of rape cases over the course of decades.
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Criminal Justice Rape kit lawsuit against Memphis heads to hearings
Hearings will be held this week in a lawsuit filed in 2014 accusing the Memphis Police Department of negligence in the handling of thousands of rape kits.
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Criminal Justice Amended lawsuit says Henderson avoided rape charge for months despite evidence from girlfriend
An amended lawsuit contends Eliza Fletcher’s alleged killer avoided arrest for rape in 2021 despite implicating details that a second witness gave Memphis police days after the attack.
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September 2022
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Metro Special legislative committee to study state’s rape kit backlog
The amount of time needed to process a rape kit at TBI’s West Tennessee crime lab in Jackson ranged from 33 to 49 weeks over the past year. The statewide backlog was up to more than 950 kits awaiting testing as of last month.
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Criminal Justice Rape victim’s appearance on ‘Good Morning America’ prompts calls for reform
As the woman who police think was raped last year by Eliza Fletcher’s alleged killer takes her story to a national audience on ‘Good Morning America,’ community leaders are demanding answers about law enforcement’s slow-moving investigation of the 2021 rape.
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Criminal Justice Lawsuit alleges negligence by Memphis police in 2021 rape case
A new lawsuit against the City of Memphis alleges that MPD officers failed to follow up on leads from a 2021 rape and asserts a proper investigation might have prevented Eliza Fletcher’s death.
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Exclusive
Metro‘They didn’t care’ — Rape victim blames police for inaction
Exclusive: A woman who said she was sexually assaulted by Cleotha Henderson, aka Cleotha Abston, the same man accused of killing Eliza Fletcher, says Memphis Police Department didn’t make solving her case a priority.
Related story:
Report poses fresh questions about 2021 Cleotha Henderson rape inquiry
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Exclusive
MetroReport poses fresh questions about 2021 Cleotha Henderson rape inquiry
As information emerges linking Eliza Fletcher’s alleged killer to a 2021 rape, the rape victim and two retired detectives are questioning what more could have been done to solve the case.
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Update
Criminal JusticeEliza Fletcher’s alleged killer investigated in 2021 for rape
In September 2021, a woman told police Cleotha Abston abducted and raped her at gunpoint, yet Abston remained free until he was arrested earlier this week for Eliza Fletcher’s murder.
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Metro State crime lab took 11 months to test DNA linking Cleotha Abston to 2021 rape
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says MPD should have acted more aggressively to solve the 2021 assault; DNA analysis was completed a few days after the disappearance of Eliza Fletcher.
Related story:
Eliza Fletcher’s alleged killer investigated in 2021 for rape
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August 2022
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Metro EXCLUSIVE: Assessor alleges Halbert decision costs county $4M a year in lost tax revenue
As comptroller urges ouster of Wanda Halbert, a new controversy emerges.
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Elections Conflict of interest? Weirich’s election-season interview with ‘shock jock’ raises questions
In the middle of an election campaign, District Attorney Amy Weirich appears on Thaddeus Matthews’ show as her office simultaneously prosecutes him on several misdemeanor allegations. Legal experts say it appears to be a conflict of interest.
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July 2022
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Criminal Justice Disbarred Memphis lawyer hauls in big pay from political candidates
Former lawyer Bret Thompson was disbarred in 1996 for stealing client funds. He’s been repeatedly convicted since then for posing as a lawyer and stealing from “clients.” But as his list of victims grows, judges and other candidates pay him thousands of dollars as a political consultant.
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June 2022
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Metro TVA’s image takes a hit as it fights to keep Memphis contract
Secrecy, political “jockeying” hurts Tennessee Valley Authority’s message, critics say.
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May 2022
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Metro Public or private? TVA again declines to release employee salaries
As Memphis frets over possibly leaving TVA in search of cheaper electricity, the federal agency again rejects a Freedom of Information request seeking details on salaries it pays its employees.
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April 2022
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Criminal Justice Victim confronts former police official who destroyed evidence of her rape
Rape survivor Debby Dalhoff has been searching for decades for answers in her still-unsolved 1985 home-invasion attack by a masked intruder.
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City of Memphis Deposition renews controversy in hotly contested rape kit lawsuit against city
Attorneys for rape victims suing the City of Memphis presented new allegations contending that kits were indeed destroyed.
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March 2022
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City of Memphis Strickland says city through ‘first quarter’ of MLGW-TVA decision
The three returning and two new MLGW board members breezed through City Council approval Tuesday, as a move to hire an energy consultant was put on hold.
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Elections MLGW commissioners to step down from board amid political house cleaning by Strickland
Longtime MLGW board members will not be reappointed by Mayor Strickland. The decision follows an investigation by the Institute for Public Service Reporting that found all five board members were serving after their terms had expired.
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City of Memphis TVA withholds salary data, claims competitive concerns
As it fights to save its Memphis power contract, the Tennessee Valley Authority is irritating critics by an alleged lack of transparency that includes withholding the salary of its West Region vice president Mark Yates.
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City of Memphis City Council to consider tightening MLGW’s financial disclosure rules
A committee will review MLGW’s ethics policy to determine why its financial disclosure statements aren’t posted on the web — and why those statements require less information than state of Tennessee forms do.
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