Cleotha Henderson enters not guilty plea connected to Eliza Fletcher kidnapping, murder
The man charged with kidnapping and killing a mother and teacher in September has pleaded not guilty.
Cleotha Henderson, also known by the last name Abston, entered the plea at his arraignment Friday morning.
Henderson is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, and tampering with evidence. He was indicted by a grand jury Jan. 25.
He is accused of kidnapping a Memphis teacher, Eliza Fletcher, while she was out for a morning run in early September. She was last seen being pulled into a car around the University of Memphis area.
The manhunt that ensued spanned the weekend and involved multiple agencies at the local and state level.
Henderson was arrested Sept. 4, two days after Fletcher's disappearance. Her body was not found until the next day, behind an abandoned house.
An autopsy report obtained by The Commercial Appeal indicated Fletcher's cause of death as a gunshot wound, to the back-right side of her head.
Henderson also faces rape charges from a 2021 case after a rape kit that was sent in returned a hit for Henderson in CODIS, a national DNA database, on Sep. 5.
Henderson's next scheduled court date is March 30.
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: Cleotha Henderson pleads not guilty in Eliza Fletcher case
