A Tennessee man who kidnapped and killed a teacher in September 2022 was sentenced on Monday to life in prison without parole after pleading guilty in an arrangement that spared him from a possible death sentence.
The man, Cleotha Abston, 40, was scheduled to go to trial next year, but his lawyer worked out an agreement with prosecutors in which he would plead guilty to first-degree murder and kidnapping if they did not purse the death penalty.
The family of the teacher, Eliza Fletcher, supported the agreement, the Shelby County District Attorney’s office said in a statement on Monday.
Ms. Fletcher, 34, was abducted while she was out on an run near the University of Memphis campus around 4:30 a.m. on Sept. 2, 2022. After she did not return home, her husband called the police around 7:45 a.m.
Prosecutors said they were able to identify Mr. Abston as a suspect using forensic evidence and surveillance video, and he was detained on Sept. 4, 2022. Ms. Fletcher’s body was found the next day behind a vacant duplex apartment in the South Memphis neighborhood of the city.
Juni Ganguli, a lawyer for Mr. Abston, said in an email on Monday that he had advised Mr. Abston to plead guilty because he faced “overwhelming” evidence against him.
“I’ve had other death penalty cases where the prosecution had agreed to sentences of life without parole following the guilt phase of trials,” Mr. Ganguli said. “However, there was overwhelming publicity and public outcry in this case. So, there was a substantial likelihood that we would have to proceed to a sentencing hearing.”
Mr. Ganguli said that a jury most likely would have sentenced Mr. Abston to death, so they offered to have him plead guilty and accept a sentence of life without parole. The state accepted the settlement, Mr. Ganguli said.
In a statement on Monday, Ms. Fletcher’s family directly addressed Mr. Abston.
“We have no idea what happened to you to turn you into someone so filled with a desire to hurt people,” the family said. “Whatever it was, it does not excuse or explain what you have done. You have changed our lives forever, and nothing will ever be the same. Your actions were evil. There is no other word for it. You murdered Liza, even though she did nothing to deserve it. She did not hurt you. In fact, she would’ve been the first to help if you needed it.”
The Shelby County District Attorney’s office said that the disappearance and killing of Ms. Fletcher had “deeply shaken the community.”
In a separate case, Mr. Abston was sentenced in May to 80 years in prison after he had been convicted of raping and kidnapping a woman in 2021.
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