Body of kidnapped heiress found
The body of missing heiress Eliza Fletcher has been found dumped in Memphis four days after she was violently snatched during an early morning run, Tennessee police confirmed on Tuesday.
“The deceased victim that was located yesterday in the 1600 block of Victor (Street, south of Memphis’ CBD) has been identified as 34-year-old Eliza Fletcher,” Memphis Police Department tweeted.
According to the New York Post, Fletcher’s suspected killer and kidnapper, Cleotha Abston, 38, has been charged with first-degree murder and first-degree murder in perpetration of kidnapping, in addition to a charge of especially aggravated kidnapping laid against her on Saturday.
Authorities found the body of the mother-of-two at 5.07pm on Monday in an area near to where police say Absten was seen clearing out a vehicle seen in the surveillance footage of Fletcher’s abduction.
Abston, who has previously served 20 years in prison for violent kidnapping, had refused to reveal where Fletcher was, police said at the time.
His brother was among those who reported that Abston was acting “strange” and scrubbing his clothes in the hours after the abduction, according to an affidavit.
After police released images of Fletcher during her 4am run around the University of Memphis on Friday, it was later revealed that the car she was forced into had been trawling the area at least 24 minutes before she ran through.
Surveillance footage showed an SUV pulled up ahead of her, with a man getting out and running “aggressively toward” Fletcher before forcing her into the backseat.
“During this abduction, there appeared to be a struggle,” the affidavit said, adding that Fletcher likely “suffered serious injury”.
Her husband, Richard Fletcher, raised the alarm at 7am.
Abston quickly became the prime suspect after a pair of shoes left at the scene returned his DNA when tested.
The 34-year-old was the granddaughter of a late Memphis billionaire.
Image: The New York Post