Trial date set for Memphis man accused of raping a woman a year before jogger’s killing

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A judge on Thursday set a trial date for a man accused of raping a woman a year before he was charged with kidnapping and killing a school teacher who was on an early morning run.

Cleotha Abston was not arrested on the rape charges before Eliza Fletcher’s killing because of a long delay in processing the sexual assault kit, authorities have said. Abston, 39, has pleaded not guilty in both cases.

Shelby County Judge Lee Coffee scheduled an April 8 trial for Abston on the charges of kidnapping and raping a woman in September 2021. Abston is charged with snatching Fletcher from a street near the University of Memphis on Sept. 2, 2022, and forcing her into an SUV. Her body was found days later near a vacant duplex.

Abston, who also has used the name Cleotha Henderson, was charged with the 2021 rape days after he was charged with Fletcher’s killing.

The April rape trial will take place before the trial in the Fletcher case. Prosecutors say they will pursue the death penalty if Abston is convicted of first-degree murder, but no trial date has been set in that case.

The killing of Fletcher, a 34-year-old kindergarten teacher and mother of two, shocked the Memphis community led to a flood of support for her family. Runners in Memphis and several other cities held an early-morning running event in her honor a week after she was abducted. A second run honoring Fletcher was held this year.

Abston was arrested after police detected his DNA on sandals found near the location where Fletcher was last seen, an arrest affidavit said. An autopsy report showed Fletcher died of a gunshot wound to the head. She also had injuries to her right leg and jaw fractures.

After Fletcher’s death, the Legislature passed a law requiring the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to issue a quarterly report on sexual assault kit testing times.

Abston’s lawyer, Juni Ganguli, has filed a change of venue motion seeking to have jurors from the Nashville area hear the rape case. Ganguli says heavy media coverage and social media commentary threaten Abston’s ability to receive a fair trial if Memphis-area jurors are used.

Ganguli said social media comments about news stories in the Fletcher case have been overwhelmingly negative and toxic.

“I understand people are angry. That’s not lost on me,” Ganguli said. “With that said, in order to ensure that this man gets a fair trial, that the system works, you’ve got have a fair and impartial jury.”