The man accused in the kidnapping and murder of Memphis mother Eliza Fletcher has been charged with an additional count of aggravated kidnapping and rape in an “unrelated” case, a report said.
Cleotha Abston, 38, is facing the additional charges, Memphis police confirmed to Fox News, without providing much information other than confirmation that the new counts aren’t tied to Fletcher’s case.
Abston, who served 20 years in prison for especially aggravated kidnapping in 2000, has been charged with murdering Fletcher, the granddaughter of a late billionaire.
Fletcher was jogging around 4:20 a.m. on Sept. 2 when she was forced into a dark GMC Terrain, Memphis police said. Her smashed phone and water bottle were also found nearby.
Surveillance footage had shown Fletcher, a 34-year-old wife and mother of two, being shoved into the car.
Abston was busted the next day after DNA linked him to a pair of slides left near the kidnapping scene. He refused to tell detectives where she was.
Her body was found Monday in the “rear of a vacant duplex apartment” in an area close to where police say Abston was seen in surveillance footage vigorously cleaning out the GMC Terrain.
The suspect’s brother — who was separately charged with drug and gun offenses — was among those who claimed Abston was acting “strange” and scrubbing his clothes hours after the abduction, according to an affidavit.
Authorities said Tuesday the alleged attack appears to be random, explaining that Abston and Fletchers were strangers.
It’s unclear where Fletcher died and how she was killed.