There are 31 article(s) tagged Cleotha Abston:
The state appeals court affirmed that the city is protected from suit over claims that Memphis police allegedly failed to properly investigate when Cleotha Abston raped a woman in 2021.
“No legal resolution and no sentence can diminish the anguish of Liza’s murder,” Eliza Fletcher’s family said in a statement.
Abston, 40, waived his right to a sentencing hearing and agreed to the 80-year sentence in Shelby County Criminal Court Division 7 Judge Lee Coffee’s courtroom Friday, May 17.
Cleotha Abston, 40, was found guilty as charged on aggravated rape and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and guilty on a lesser charge of aggravated kidnapping, which was reduced from an especially aggravated kidnapping charge.
The jury began deliberating around 1 p.m. Thursday, April 11 — the third day of Cleotha Abston’s trial — before breaking at about 5 p.m.
Cleotha Abston chose not to take the stand Wednesday, April 10, during the second day of trial for the alleged rape of Alicia Franklin.
“It seemed like forever,” Alicia Franklin said of her alleged rape by Cleotha Abston during testimony she gave on the first day of trial in the case.
Abston’s attorney previously tried to have jurors from Davidson County used in the trial, arguing that excessive media coverage of the Eliza Fletcher case would taint a potential local jury pool.
Shelby County Criminal Court Division 7 Judge Lee Coffee made the decision during a motion hearing Wednesday, Jan. 3, after Abston’s attorney filed a change-of-venue motion, specifically requesting a jury from Davidson County.
Shelby County Criminal Court Division VII Judge Lee Coffee set the trial date during a Thursday, Oct. 12, report date.
Eliza Fletcher was kidnapped and murdered on Sept. 2, 2022. Three days later, a shooting spree paralyzed the city. One man was arrested in each case. Here’s where those cases stand.
Attorneys for the City of Memphis are appealing the class-action status of a lawsuit against the city over its lack of testing of more than 12,000 rape kits.
Henderson is accused of the September 2022 kidnapping and killing of school teacher Eliza Fletcher.
The lawsuit filed by Alicia Franklin alleges negligence by the city regarding her alleged September 2021 sexual assault by Cleotha Henderson, aka Abston.
Fresh questions surface about a series of expunged burglaries linked to murder defendant Cleotha Henderson.
Despite 53 disciplinary infractions, Cleotha Henderson served only 19 years of a 24-year sentence
The Daily Memphian obtained Henderson’s prison records from the Tennessee Department of Corrections; the documents reveal 53 infractions.
Henderson, also known by the surname Abston, is charged with first-degree murder, especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence.
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.
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. Report poses fresh questions about 2021 Cleotha Henderson rape inquiryRelated story:
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.
The man accused in the death of Eliza Fletcher has also been charged with especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated rape and illegal possession of a firearm after results from a rape kit submitted in 2021 linked him to that crime.
One was an attorney who used the law to make a positive difference in society. The other was a gun-wielding juvenile delinquent. Their paths crossed on the evening of May 25, 2000, and now, 22 years later, it serves as an eerie backstory to the tragic kidnapping and murder of Eliza Fletcher.
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. Eliza Fletcher’s alleged killer investigated in 2021 for rapeRelated story:
The public defender assigned to the case had asked during a hearing Wednesday to be recused.Related stories:
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