A 38-year-old Memphis man who had previously served time for an unrelated 2020 kidnapping has been arrested for the Friday abduction of 34-year-old kindergarten teacher and mother of two Eliza Fletcher, the granddaughter of a Tennessee billionaire, WREG CBS-3 in Memphis reports.
Police obtained a video showing Cleotha Abston violently forcing Eliza Fletcher into a black SUV. The police were able to locate the vehicle and detained Mario Abston, also 36, who was by the vehicle on drugs and weapons charges, but he is not believed to have been involved in the kidnapping. It’s unknown if and how Cleotha and Mario are related.
Cleotha Abston was released in November 2020 after serving 20 years in prison after pleading guilty in another case of especially aggravated kidnapping. Cleotha Abston has not cooperated with authorities and has not hinted at Fletcher’s location. On Sunday afternoon, police confiscated a dumpster at Cleotha Abston’s apartment complex.