MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG TV) — Memphis Police on Tuesday morning identified a body found in South Memphis on Monday as missing 34-year-old mother and teacher Eliza Fletcher.
Additional charges of first-degree murder and murder in perpetration of kidnapping have been added for suspect Cleotha Abston, police said.
The body was found during a search in South Memphis near where police say Abston was seen cleaning out his vehicle.
Students at St. Mary’s Episcopal School, the private school where missing jogger Eliza Fletcher taught, will start school late and gather in chapel Tuesday.
According to an email sent out to parents, the school’s North campus will be closed to all students through fifth grade Tuesday. Students in sixth through 12th grades will have a delayed start, so faculty and staff can meet.
Middle and high school students should be at the school no earlier than 9:45, and be in their classrooms by 10.
“Students will gather in chapel and we will acknowledge that a member of our community is missing and then pray for Liza and her family. We will remind the girls how to access support should they need it and how to care for themselves. We will try to maintain as much of a routine as possible,” Headmaster Albert Throckmorton said in the email.
Sources with Memphis Police said a body found Monday in South Memphis near where suspect Cleotha Abston was seen cleaning out his vehicle matched the description of Fletcher.
Fletcher, a 34-year-old mother and teacher, disappeared after she left her Midtown Memphis home and went for a run early Friday morning. Police said she was forced into an SUV on Central Avenue near the University of Memphis.
Fletcher is the granddaughter and heiress of the late Joseph “Joe” Orgill III, a Memphis hardware business owner and philanthropist who was reportedly a billionaire when he died in 2018.
Cleotha Abston has been arrested by Memphis Police and charged with kidnapping and several other charges in connection with the case.
(PHOTO: Eliza Fletcher)
