Advocates push for investigator to look at 'failings' leading up to Eliza Fletcher's death

Two advocacy groups are asking for a special investigator to look into various agencies for possible "failings" by law enforcement and state prison officials leading up to the kidnapping and killing a Memphis mother.

The letter, addressed to Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and released to The Commercial Appeal on Wednesday, focuses on the case of 38-year-old Cleotha Henderson, who is charged with kidnapping and killing 34-year-old Eliza Fletcher in September.

Meaghan Ybos, the executive director for People for the Enforcement of Rape Laws (PERL), and Matthew Charles, a policy associate for Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), signed the letter that questions the culpability of the Memphis Police Department and the Tennessee Department of Corrections.

"Ultimately, the failure to test the 2021 rape kit in a timely manner and to arrest and charge Mr.Abston allowed him to roam free until he allegedly killed Ms. Fletcher," the letter read. "We think aninvestigation into this grave lapse must take place if state leaders truly want to prevent futuretragedies."

The letter requests an investigator who does not work for Tennessee law enforcement, "so that the public can be assured that the investigation is independent and will not be influenced by interests whose failures might have contributed to allowing this tragedy to occur.

"We urge you to appoint a special investigator to examine these and other failings that led to Ms. Fletcher’s death," the letter says.

Henderson, who sometimes goes by the last name Abston, was arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder after authorities said he grabbed Fletcher while she was on her morning run near the University of Memphis.

Police said DNA evidence linked Henderson to the crime scene after a pair of slides were sent to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to be tested. The slides were tested rapidly because they were given a "rush" designation.

Days after his arrest in connection to the Fletcher case, Henderson was indicted for an alleged 2021 abduction and rape. Alicia Franklin, according to a lawsuit she filed against the City of Memphis for its handling of the case, met Henderson on a dating app. When she went to meet him, Franklin said he raped her and left her in an abandoned apartment, threatening to kill her if she left.

Franklin said she provided police with Henderson's name, contact information and social media information, but he was never arrested for the rape. A rape kit was taken and sent to TBI for testing, but did not return results until after Henderson was arrested in connection to the Fletcher investigation.

TBI has said Franklin's rape kit was not sent with a "rush" designation and was placed in a "queue of unknown assailant kits...and no suspect information or DNA standard was included on the submission."

"For me, this is like [the movie] 'Groundhog Day' — at least for me, with the knowledge that I am privy to," Ybos told The Commercial Appeal Wednesday.

When Ybos was 16-years-old, in 2003, she was raped by an unknown man at knifepoint. The case wouldn't be solved for years until a man was arrested in 2012. Since then, she has been involved in a civil case alleging MPD's mishandling of thousands of rape kits over the years.

"...Tough on crime measures get instituted...that ratchets up punishments...while the police still inconsistently — to say it nicely — investigate serious crimes," Ybos said. "And, as the Fletcher case has illustrated so dramatically, that has deadly consequences. I don't want to see this pattern play out once again."

TN Investigation Letter Final by USA TODAY Network on Scribd

The letter assesses some moves by the Tennessee General Assembly as "trying to exploit this tragedy to advance a false narrative and misguided policy objectives." Charles, a policy associate with FAMM, believes a special investigator would be welcomed by legislators and citizens.

"I think every concerned citizen would probably want to get to the bottom of how this eventually happened and if anything could have prevented it," Charles said. "What lawmakers should be willing to do is say, 'Justice demands that we find out exactly what happened, and can this be prevented, and where the breakdown was.' That's what the special investigator would do and I think legislators should automatically welcome that."

MPD declined to respond to a request for comment and the governor's office did not return a request for comment at the time of this article's publication.

In September, Police Chief Cerelyn "CJ" Davis said the department is able to rush a rape kit comes when there is probable cause and DNA evidence would further strengthen a solid case. She also said a signature is required from the DA's office.

Henderson is charged with aggravated rape, especially aggravated kidnapping and unlawful carrying of a weapon in the 2021 case and first-degree murder and especially aggravated kidnapping charges in connection with Fletcher's death.

The state released Henderson from prison in 2020, after he served about 22 years in state prison after being convicted of kidnapping an attorney. He received more than 1,000 days of "good time," shortening his sentence despite having multiple infractions inside the prison for his behavior, Department of Corrections records obtained by The Commercial Appeal show.

Lucas Finton is a news reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Advocates want special investigation of events before Fletcher's death