![]() Abston’s employer confirmed to police that he worked for a cleaning service.Ĭourt records reviewed by the New York Times said that Abston “declined to provide investigators with the location of the victim”, adding that “it is believed and supported by the facts and physical evidence that she suffered serious injury”. Police had searched several locations with dogs, ATVs and a helicopter throughout the long weekend.Īccording to the Memphis television station Fox13, Fletcher’s body was found within walking distance of an area where Abston was said to have been seen cleaning a GMC Terrain hours after her kidnapping. There was a large police presence in the area where authorities reported the body’s discovery. Late on Monday, police tweeted that a body had been found in a Memphis neighborhood but stopped short of identifying that person or providing a cause of death. On Sunday, Memphis police announced that authorities had charged Abston’s brother, 36-year-old Mario Abston, with drug and firearms offenses and that he was not believed to be involved in Fletcher’s kidnapping. Police also linked the vehicle they believe was used in Fletcher’s kidnapping to a person at a home where Abston was staying. Abston said he could not afford the bond or a lawyer, and the judge, Louis Montesi, appointed a public defender to represent Abston. The judge ordered Abston detained in lieu of a $510,000 bond. Relatives of Fletcher and more than 20 media members were in the courtroom on Tuesday morning for Abston’s arraignment, which was his first appearance before a judge on charges of kidnapping, tampering with evidence, theft, identity theft and fraudulent use of a credit card. The car then idled in the parking lot with Fletcher inside for about four minutes before it drove off, according to the affidavit. ![]() ![]() The affidavit added that a man then got out of the car, ran aggressively towards Fletcher and forced her into the passenger’s seat after a struggle. Memphis police said in a tweet on Tuesday that Abston will now also face charges of first-degree murder while carrying out a kidnapping, which under Tennessee law can carry life imprisonment or even execution.Īccording to the arrest affidavit, security footage from the scene showed a black GMC Terrain passing and then waiting for Fletcher to run by. Federal marshals jailed Cleotha Abston, 38, on Saturday in connection with Fletcher’s kidnapping after police detected his DNA on a pair of sandals found near where she had last been seen, according to a sworn statement justifying his arrest. She had been kidnapped about 4am on Friday, when a man approached her and forced her into a sport utility vehicle after a brief struggle, police said.įletcher, a mother of two young boys, was reported missing when she did not return home from her regular morning jog.Ī man charged with aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence in the nationally publicized case was arraigned on Tuesday. A series of searches over the Labor Day weekend led authorities to Fletcher’s body on Monday.
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