IT'S ELIZA: Memphis Mom Body ID'ed, Video Shows Suspect Frantically Cleaning Blood from GMC Yards from Dead Body

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline

News, True Crime

4.2 • 8.1K Ratings

🗓️ 7 September 2022

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A decomposing body found in the tall grass behind a vacant building has been identified as Memphis teacher Eliza Fletcher.

The mom of two vanished last Friday during an early morning jog. Less than a mile from the kidnapping site, officers combing the area noticed footprints, tire tracks and “an odor of decay.”

A pair of purple Lululemon running shorts matching what Fletcher was last seen wearing, was found in a nearby trash can.

Cleotha Abston, 38, was caught on video forcing Fletcher into a vehicle. He was also seen at around 7:30 a.m. at his brother's home, cleaning the vehicle and washing his clothes.

Abston has been charged with first-degree murder, especially aggravated kidnapping, and tampering with evidence.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

Matthew Mangino - Attorney, Former District Attorney (Lawrence County), Former Parole Board Member, Author: "The Executioner's Toll: The Crimes, Arrests, Trials, Appeals, Last Meals, Final Words and Executions of 46 Persons in the United States", MattMangino.com, Twitter: @MatthewTMangino
Dr. Angela Arnold - Psychiatrist, Atlanta GA, AngelaArnoldMD.com, Expert in the Treatment of Pregnant/Postpartum Women, Former Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Obstetrics and Gynecology: Emory University, Former Medical Director of The Psychiatric Ob-Gyn Clinic at Grady Memorial Hospital
Jennifer Coffindaffer - Former FBI Agent, Law Enforcement Network Analyst, Expert Witness, Self-Defense/Firearms Instructor, Firearms Beyond International, firearmsbeyondinternational.com, Twitter: @CoffindafferFBI
Dr. Kendall Crowns – Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth), Lecturer: University of Texas Austin and Texas Christian University Medical School
Dave Mack - Crime Online Investigative Reporter

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Yellowstone, television's number one show is back on Paramount Network.
0:03.6	I John Dutton, who solemnly swear to uphold the Constitution of the State of Montana,
0:08.4	against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
0:10.8	Featuring an all-star cast led by Academy Award winner Kevin Costner,
0:13.9	the invasion is over. They will fight you dirty.
0:16.0	Is there any other way?
0:17.2	As the Dutton family fights to protect their legacy, they'll learn power has a price.
0:21.1	Signed as a declaration of war.
0:23.2	We're already at war.
0:24.2	Yellowstone, new episodes Sundays at 8 p.m. Eastern, exclusively on Paramount Network.
0:36.0	Crime stories with Nancy Grace.
0:44.0	In the last hours, a convicted kidnapper, rapist,
0:49.5	agasalter and court. But this time linked to the body of a 34-year-old Memphis mother of two.
1:01.5	Eliza Fletcher, her disappearance, rocked not only Memphis but our country.
1:07.3	So seemingly out of the blue, this innocent, young church school teacher,
1:14.4	mother of two beautiful children out up and early like many of us moms.
1:22.0	She's up at four o'clock.
1:23.7	See, only time in her day she can fit in a run in between working and being a full-time mother.
1:32.4	Eliza never made it home from that run.
1:39.0	Where did it all start?
1:40.3	Take a listen to our friends at WR-EG.
1:44.3	It's been just over 12 hours since Eliza Fletcher disappeared.
	...

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