The heiress' "kidnapper" has been released from his 20-year sentence for kidnapping (2023)

The criminal accused of kidnapping billionaire heiress Eliza Fletcher was recently released from prison after serving a 20-year sentence for a similar offence.

Cleotha Abston, 38, was arrested and convicted in 2000 for the kidnapping of Memphis attorney Kemper Durand.

At approximately 2:00 a.m. on May 25, 2000, Abston Durand approached him from behind on Beale Street in Memphis, robbed him and forced him into the trunk of his car, authorities said.Memphis Brochure.

Abton then drove Durand for several hours, then forced him into an ATM and told him to withdraw cash. Durand saw a housing officer at the ATM and yelled for help, prompting Abston to flee.

Abston was convicted of that kidnapping and released from prison in July 2020, according to the Tennessee Department of Justice.Muere US-Sonneinformed.

On Sunday, Abston was charged with particularly aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence following Fletcher's disappearance on Friday.

In addition to surveillance footage showing the entire "violent" kidnapping, in which Fletcher was forced into a black van with a broken taillight, an affidavit showed police identified Abston wearing a pair of sandals he left behind. at the scene as identified by the hijacker.

Abton lost the sandals, a pair of Champion mules, in his struggle to force Fletcher into the car, and authorities were able to return DNA found on them.

Investigators also determined that, at the time of Fletcher's abduction, Abston's cell was close to where he was abducted. The affidavit described an interview with a woman who said Abston's behavior in the hours after the abduction was "bizarre."

The woman said Abston was in a "strange frame of mind" and saw him frantically cleaning the interior of his car with a carpet cleaner and washing his clothes in the sink at home.

Authorities went to Abston's last known address and found the same black SUV with a damaged taillight. The affidavit said that Abston was at the door when police arrived and that he began to flee but was soon apprehended.

Abston has yet to say where Fletcher is or what he has done with her. The statement states that evidence, including blood, found in Abston's car led them to believe that Fletcher suffered "serious injury".

"The investigation into the abduction of Eliza Fletcher remains active and ongoing. Investigators continue to search and are following up on all leads," police said in a statement Sunday after announcing Abston's arrest.

Police were also seen searching trash bins outside a McDonald's restaurant in Memphis on Saturday night, looking for the mother and kindergarten teacher.

A McDonald's area resident saidTHE WINE:“They knocked on the front doors with cameras to see if we had anything useful on our ring.

"They told us to review our images from 4:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. yesterday and to send anything of value via the phone number they left us."

Shortly before this search, police searched an apartment complex where they were involved in a confrontation with a person from a unit. It is not clear if this was Abston's house.

A resident of the complex posted a photo showing members of the Memphis Police Department SWAT team preparing for the raid Saturday night and said police were in a standoff with a person at the home. According to witnesses, the police officers broke down the door of an apartment and took out a woman, her daughter, and a baby.

Another resident of the complex, The Lakes at Ridgeway, who was surrounded by a large police presence, said he also saw an ambulance at the scene.

abc mar24ian Ripple,The SUV wanted in connection with the case was found after being involved in a motor vehicle accident with tobacco alcohol firearms near the complex.

After the discovery of the car, Fletcher's family, his father Beasley, his mother Adele, his brother Gill and her husband, along with their lawyer Mike Keeney, appeared on camera.

In the statement, Keeney thanked law enforcement for their search efforts, saying, "We believe someone knows what happened and can help." At that station, Fletcher's husband was overcome with emotion.

On Friday, police raided a park near where a wealthy heiress was kidnapped and forced into a vehicle as they searched for clues about the baffling case.

Eliza Fletcher, 34, was last seen around 4:20 a.m. Friday while jogging in Memphis when a man approached her and, after a brief struggle, forced her into a pickup truck, police said. .

Fletcher is heiress to a family fortune in the Orgill hardware company, which her grandfather built into a global brand, though the family fortune is unclear.

Fletcher's family offered a $50,000 reward on Friday night via Crimestoppers for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for his disappearance.

"We look forward to Eliza's safe return and hope this award will help police arrest those who committed this crime," Fletcher's family said in an earlier statement.

On Friday night, Shelby County Sheriff's Office deputies spent several hours combing a wooded area of ​​Overton Park, a vast open space less than 1.5 miles from where Fletcher was abducted.

The search was called off when night fell and investigators were looking into a lead related to the kidnapping case.WREG-TV.

State police late Friday said the suspect vehicle in the case was a dark-colored GMC Terrain and released a blurry surveillance image of the SUV driving away from the crime.

Memphis police officers were seen towing Fletcher's family car, a white Jeep Wagoneer, from their home.

Investigators were also seen tagging pruning shears and a computer as evidence. A large police presence remained at the family home throughout the night.

Fletcher, whose name is Liza, is a kindergarten teacher at St. Mary's Episcopal College.

According to Richie's LinkedIn page, he works as a manager at a boat dealership in Memphis. Previously, he worked as a project manager at a construction company and as a crossfit trainer.

Between October 2001 and October 2005, Richie served in the United States Coast Guard as a mechanical engineer.

She was reported missing when she didn't return home from her usual morning run, and her cell phone and a water bottle were discovered outside a University of Memphis home, authorities said.

Fletcher, a fitness fanatic who regularly jogs the same route, had her phone thrown to the ground and crushed during the crime.

The mother of two is described as being 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighing 137 pounds, with brown hair and green eyes. She was last seen wearing a pink t-shirt and purple shorts.

The kidnapped woman is the granddaughter of hardware magnate Joseph "Joe" Orgill III, who died in 2018.

Fletcher's mother, Adele, is Orgill's daughter. His family-owned hardware wholesale business, Orgill Inc., has annual sales of $3 billion, according to the company's website.

The company description on the website describes Orgill as "the world's largest hardline independent distributor with annual sales of $3 billion." The company is private.

The company employs more than 5,500 people.

In a tribute article published inthe memphis mercantile callIn 2018, a friend of Joe Orgill III described him in hardware circles as a cross between Bono and Mr. Rogers. An obvious reference to his philanthropic activities and warm demeanor.

Announcing the reward money in Fletcher's case, the family said in a brief statement: "We look forward to Eliza's safe return and hope this award will help police arrest those who committed this crime."

In February, Fletcher said in an Instagram post that he attended the Orgill fair in Orlando, Florida.

Fletcher and her husband belong to the Second Presbyterian Church in East Memphis.

Students at Fletcher's school received a letter Friday saying a teacher had been kidnapped.

'We don't tell our younger students about Mrs Fletcher. We will support older students when they hear this news," Principal Albert Throckmorton said in the letter.Fox News.

In 2021, a Facebook post on the school's page recognized Fletcher as a person whose "smile lights up every room she walks into."

He continues, "She is a caring and passionate teacher who is always looking for creative ways to teach all of her students."

The post ended with the words: “She knows each student individually and does everything she can to make them excited about learning.

He attended the Hutchison School in Memphis graduating as part of the class of 2006. Fletcher graduated from Baylor University with a degree in Exercise Science. She received her Master's in Education from Belmont University.

Before joining St. Mary's, Fletcher taught at Promise Academy in Nashville and was also the school's head football coach.

She was an experienced runner who qualified for the Boston Marathon. In 2019, Fletcher finished the St. Jude with a time of three hours and 26 minutes and placed 22nd overall.

Police have yet to say a possible motive or whether they believe Fletcher was abducted by an opportunistic predator or someone who was investigating the young mother's frequent route.

Fletcher's kidnapping has shaken his community. As of Friday afternoon, a Facebook group called "Missing Eliza Fletcher in Memphis, Tennessee" had amassed more than 2,000 members.

They took her near the University of Memphis. A student at the school, Sam Sparrenberg, told WREG: "My friend and I were probably the first to see the police cars come out, but we had no idea."

He added, "I've never heard of anything like that. I spent time in colleges. I've been to the University of Tennessee and the University of Mississippi; I've never heard of anything like that."

In 2014, Fletcher married Richard "Richie" James Fletcher III in a lavish ceremony in the magical forest detailed inMemphis Magazine. The bride is described in profile as "outside, sporty and warm".

Richie works at a company called Venture Libre, a company that makes "custom storage solutions for adventure vehicles."

According to posts on his Instagram page, the family took an extended vacation in early August.

The senior pastor of the church Fletcher and her husband attended, George Robertson, described the missing woman aloud.the mercantile call of Memphis.

Robertson continued, “She and her husband, Ritchie, are very active and excellent leaders in our congregation. They have two children who come up to me every week and give me hugs.”

He added: "She and her husband are just inspirations in terms of their joie de vivre and love of running and athletics."

Robertson also said the couple had a "deep trust in Christ." He said: "That's Ritchie's confidence now."

The Second Presbyterian Church said on its Facebook page that the church is open for prayer all day.

Talk toWife,a friend of Fletcher's, Hart Robinson, said, "You don't want to hear what's going on. We want to find her."

Robinson also said: "We don't know what's going on but everyone is desperate for her and the police are looking into it. You can see there's a lot of activity so if you know anything or saw anything this morning we're asking you." for you to introduce yourself.'

In March of this year, Richie celebrated the couple's anniversary in an Instagram post, writing: “[Eight] years of working with this hot chick. She wouldn't have it any other way. Even if the gastrointestinal virus runs in our family."

A year earlier, he wrote on Instagram: "Yesterday we celebrated 7 years of marriage to this beauty!"

He added: "If we were asked in grade 3 if we could make it to grade 7, we'd probably say NO! Apparently we weren't told a healthy marriage wouldn't be easy. Thankfully we put God/recovery first, we were both willing to believe each other and ask for help.

He continued, "We are so grateful for individual counseling, couples counseling, recovery, and friends! We can honestly say we wouldn't have it any other way!"

Records show Richie was arrested multiple times for alcohol-related offenses, including public intoxication and drunk driving.

No suspects have yet been identified, although police have identified the hijacker as a man.

According to publicly available security data on the city's website, there were at least 100 incidents classified as kidnappings in Memphis that year.

A $50,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the safe return of Eliza Fletcher. Anyone with relevant information is asked to call or write Memphis CrimeStoppers anonymously at 901-528-CASH (2274).