An American man who admitted the kidnapping and murder of billionaire heiress Eliza Fletcher has been sentenced to life without parole. According to a report from WREG, Cleotha Abston pleaded guilty in a Memphis court on Monday, which could lead to an immediate life sentence in prison.
Abston bowed his head as he addressed the judge but remained expressionless after he pleaded guilty to kidnapping and murder charges. The report said he answered most of the judge’s questions with a simple “yes”.
Eliza Fletcher, 34, a teacher and mother, disappeared while going for an early-morning run in September 2022. A few days after his disappearance, his body was found in a wooded area outside of Memphis. He suffered serious injuries and was shot in the back of his head.
Abston was arrested the day after Fletcher disappeared. He was caught on surveillance footage thoroughly cleaning an SUV linked to his kidnapping. As reported by WREG, Abston showed little emotion in court, keeping his head bowed and speaking in a calm voice.
A statement read from Fletcher’s family expressed the impact of the tragedy: “We don’t know what happened to you to turn you into someone who was filled with the desire to hurt people. No matter what, it does not excuse or explain what you did. You have changed our lives forever, and nothing will ever be the same. Your actions were bad. There is no other word for this. You murdered Liza, even though she did nothing to deserve it. He didn’t hurt you. If you needed help, she would be the first to help.”
Fletcher, the heiress of Orgill Inc., a hardware supply company that her grandfather Joseph Orgill III had helped create, was well-known in Memphis, according to the New York Post. What began as a small family business in 1847 has grown to become one of the largest privately owned companies in the country, generating revenues of more than $3 billion annually.
Fletcher, a mother of two, was a junior kindergarten teacher at St. Mary’s Episcopal School in Memphis. According to the Commercial Appeal, before joining St. Mary’s, he taught kindergarten at Promise Academy in Nashville, where he also coached children interested in soccer.
Abston was linked to the crime through DNA evidence from a pair of shoes left at the scene. His criminal history also includes a conviction earlier this year for the kidnapping and assault of a woman he met on a dating app in 2021.
