A body found dumped in Memphis has been confirmed to be billionaire heiress, and teacher, Eliza Fletcher.
Eliza Fletcher, a 34-year-old mother-of-two, was kidnapped while on an early morning jog near the University of Memphis campus on Friday, September 2nd.
Eliza, an avid runner, was last seen jogging near the University of Memphis campus at about 4:30 a.m. on Friday when, the police have said a man approached her and forced her into a dark coloured SUV.
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Eliza was the granddaughter of the late businessman, billionaire, and philanthropist Joseph Orgill III, a hardware distributor based in Memphis.
Eliza’s billionaire grandfather died in 2018. Ms. Fletcher was an heiress to the company’s fortune.
Police reported that she was last seen wearing a pink jogging top and purple/blue running shorts.
On Tuesday, The Memphis Police Department confirmed in a tweet that the suspect Cleotha Abston, 38, was charged with Eliza’s disappearance, and murder.
Cleotha Abston, 38, has been arrested and was initially charged with Especially Aggravated Kidnapping and Tampering with Evidence, according to the Memphis Police Department.
However, new charges of First-Degree Murder and First-Degree Murder in Perpetration of Kidnapping have just been added.
Police identified Abston as a suspect after his DNA was found on Eliza’s shows, and investigators determined that his phone pinged in the area Fletcher was abducted.
During a press conference on Tuesday morning, officials revealed that Eliza Fletcher's body was found in the "rear of a vacant duplex apartment."
Police confirmed the body was identified as abducted Eliza Fletcher, and were pleased to remove the perpetrator off the streets.
"While the outcome of this investigation is not what we hoped for, we are nonetheless pleased to remove this dangerous predator off the streets of Memphis."
Eliza’s body was found near the area of her abduction.
Authorities called it an ongoing investigation and said at this time, no one else has been charged.
US police revealed that the suspect in Eliza Fletcher's murder was also charged with unrelated offenses, including: Identity theft, theft of property, and credit card fraud, The Sun reports.
According to Sky news, the murder and kidnapping suspect Abston, was previously arrested and jailed for 24 years.
Abston abducted and robbed Memphis lawyer Kemper Durand in 2000, and was later released from prison in 2020.
Ms. Fletcher was a junior preschool teacher at St. Mary’s Episcopal School in Memphis, Tennessee.
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