Slain Tennessee mother Eliza Fletcher died from a gunshot wound to the back of the head and blunt force trauma to the head, according to an autopsy report.
Fletcher’s death was officially ruled a homicide by a forensic pathologist from the West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center, according to the report, obtained by WREG.
The Memphis mom and heiress to a billion-dollar fortune was out for a jog around 4:30 a.m. Sept. 2 near the University of Memphis when she was forced into a dark GMC Terrain, surveillance footage showed.
Tennessee mother Eliza Fletcher died from a gunshot wound to the head, according to an autopsy. St. Mary's Episcopal School
Cleotha Abston appears in court for his arraignment on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022, in Memphis, Tenn. Mark Weber/Daily Memphian via AP
Fletcher’s death was officially ruled a homicide. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
Abston had previously served 20 years for a crime in 2000. Shelby County Sheriff’s Office via APThe next day, police arrested 38-year-old career criminal Cleotha Abston — who had previously served 20 years for aggravated kidnapping in 2000 — and charged him in Fletcher’s abduction and murder.
Her body was found days later in a wooded area behind an abandoned home in southern Memphis, close to where police said Abston was caught on surveillance camera cleaning his clothes and the inside of the car.
He is being held in Shelby County Jail on a $1.42 million bond, jail records show. He is expected to appear in court next on Oct. 5.
