Shelby County DA seeking death penalty for man accused of killing Eliza Fletcher

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy announced Thursday that his office would seek the death penalty in the criminal case against Cleotha Abston-Henderson, the man charged with the abduction and killing of Memphis teacher Eliza Fletcher.

This is the second case Mulroy announced he would seek the death penalty for since he took office, with his first being announced in the case of alleged spree shooter Ezekiel Kelly in March.

When reading Mulroy's filing for the death penalty, Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Lee V. Coffee said Fletcher's killing was "heinous, atrocious and cruel."

"The phrase heinous, atrocious and cruel is a term of art that is in the statute," Mulroy explained to reporters after the court appearance. "It is one of the listed statutory aggravating factors. You have to show at least one of those aggravating factors in order to get the death penalty and what it refers to is a level of violence that goes above and beyond that necessary in order to cause the death."

Mulroy added that torture is often involved when invoking that aspect of the statute.

"You often see heinous, atrocious and cruel aggravating factors found in cases in which torture was involved," he said. "We are alleging that applies in this case."

Abston-Henderson is accused of kidnapping, and later killing, Fletcher while she was on an early-morning run near the University of Memphis in early September. She was last seen being pulled into a car around the campus area.

The manhunt that ensued spanned the weekend and involved multiple agencies at the local and state level.

Abston-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.

Abston-Henderson was charged with first-degree murder, especially aggravated kidnapping, unlawful possession of a firearm and tampering with evidence. Since his arrest, he was also charged with the rape of Alicia Franklin, which is alleged to have occurred about a year before Fletcher's abduction.

In addition to announcing they are seeking the death penalty, the Shelby County District Attorney's office also requested investigative findings from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Those files include a ballistics report, a firearm investigation along with serology and DNA testing.

In court Thursday, Coffee said he would like to see the case move to trial before the end of the year, but said the problem might be scheduling with attorneys.

"Mr. Abston-Henderson has been in custody on this case since Sept. 9, 2022 — about nine and a half months — he has been in custody since Sept. 5, 2022, on other cases," Coffee said. "If the court had absolute control of this case, this court would try this case prior to the end of 2023. If it's not tried, it's not because of the court scheduling, it's not because of court unavailability. It's going to be because the lawyers are just not ready to try this case."

Abston-Henderson is due back in court on Aug. 4, which is only set as a report date.

Both death penalty cases happened during Mulroy's first week in office

Both the Abston-Henderson and Kelly cases happened during Mulroy's first week in office, and both are now being tried as death penalty cases.

When those cases were first being prosecuted, The CA asked Mulroy how the first week was being handled, and he jokingly asked for a recount. Outside of Coffee's courtroom Thursday, Muolroy said the job has faced him with "grave decisions" and that first week prepared him for the responsibility as district attorney.

"I think a number of people who are in a position to know said I probably had the toughest first week of any DA in the country," Mulroy said. "Anybody who seeks the office of district attorney understands that there are extremely important and grave decisions that have to be made and that the job is very serious and weighs on one's soul. But I think that first week was a stark reminder to get me into that mood right away, and I've been conscious of that responsibility ever since."

Mulroy, who has been a staunch critic of the death penalty, said Thursday — and in March — that he has a duty as district attorney to follow the law, even if he disagrees with the policy.

"My stance on the death penalty is the same as it was a year ago," he told reporters Thursday. "I believe, as a policy matter, it's not a good idea. If I were a legislator, I would vote to abolish it. Like I said before, as DA, I have to follow the law. There are going to be some cases in which I seek the death penalty. But, if it were up to me, we would not use that as a method."

Judge Coffee on Shelby County's court backlog

In addition to hoping for a trial in Abston-Henderson's case by the end of the year, Coffee also addressed the ongoing backlog, and lack of trials, in the Shelby County Criminal Court system.

Coffee pointed towards the pandemic, and lawyers having to investigate cases that were put on ice during the two-year stretch.

"Before the pandemic, we tried murder cases within one year of an indictment," he said. "The pandemic has crippled the court system because lawyers are not able to investigate cases...and so the trial process got, unfortunately, delayed."

The judge, who was first elected in 2006, said he used to try cases under a year after someone was indicted when he first took office.

"We got into this pattern in Shelby County, and now it takes years for cases to be tried," Coffee said. "We need to get out of that rut. We need to get out of that pattern. We need to get back to being efficient and making sure that the defendant's rights to a speedy trial, the state's rights to a speedy trial and the family's rights to a speedy trial are being protected."

Lucas Finton is a criminal justice 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: Shelby County DA to seek death penalty for Cleotha Abston-Henderson