Episode 07: Welcome to Pushing Up Lilies, I’m your host Julie Mattson. Today we’re talking about the timeline of previous rape and kidnapping charges of Cleotha Henderson, the man accused of kidnapping and killing Memphis teacher Eliza Fletcher, going back to when he was only 11 and 12 years old.
SHOW NOTES:
• So this case just hit really close to home for me, but I wanted to give you all some information on this guy because I’ve been at a piece and together a timeline of his life, and it seems like he was only 11 when he first entered the juvenile court system. So at the age of 12, if you can only imagine a 12-year-old, he was charged with aggravated assault with a weapon. And what aggravated assault means is that He brandished a weapon during an assault, it’s actually possible to be charged with this, even if you don’t injure the victim. So over the next five years, he was actually held 16 times for multiple different charges, those are ranging from aggravated assault to rape. One of his rape victims was even male. So he was placed in custody of youth services multiple times as a teenager, and then after a six-month stay in juvenile detention, he was released home to his mom, and then two weeks later, he committed a crime of kidnapping and was transferred to an adult court. (01:10)
• So when we look at the timeline, he was arrested in 2000 and he was released in November of 2020, but was supposed to be in prison until 2024. So, I kind of broke down the timeline. Which kind of interesting to me because had he been held in prison for the entire 24 years, then there’s a series of other crimes that would not have happened. and we can’t help but think this, right? Because he grew up, has been in trouble since he was 11. Has been held 16 times for different charges, from aggravated assault to rape, so these are not just stealing a candy bar at 7/11. I mean aggravated assault and rape, y’all, for a 12-year-old. Because he was released in 2020, he was out of prison, and in September of 21, low and behold, he sexually assaulted someone while armed with a weapon, and then fled the scene. Of course, the victim had no idea who he was, went to the hospital and had a rape kit collected, which is what I’ve done for 21 years, part of my job, we collect kits on people who know their perpetrator, just so that we do have evidence for conviction. But we also had many people who would present and had no idea who the perpetrator was. I know that I’ve had cases where people broken to a home and sexually assaulted someone at knife point or gunpoint and injured them, but they had no idea who they were, so that does happen. And many times they do know who their perpetrator is, but not always. (05:42)
• I believe her husband called 911 and reported her as a missing person at around 7:30 that morning, the morning of September 2nd. The police began looking for her and a bicyclist located Eliza Fletchers cell phone on the ground while she was riding her bike, and then also found a pair of men’s champion slides, kind of a like the sandals, in the street, in the same area, very near where the cell phone was found. So obviously she turned all of this into the police, called the police as soon as possible. The slides were tested for DNA, and they did a rush on it, and it actually only took 18 hours to link Abston to the slides, which were found in the area where Fletcher was abducted. They did get a hit on DNA in the codes database, and there were also reports that Abston was found on the morning of September 2nd, which was when the abduction took place, he was seen cleaning his terrain later morning acting strange. And this is the day of the abduction, washing his clothes in the sink, which was abnormal and just acting strange. (10:32)
• Interestingly enough, I also found that Abston had a brother that was two years younger than him, he was arrested, his name was Mario. He was arrested during the investigation of Abston after the rape and the theft and the abduction, charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture and sell fentanyl, and intent to manufacture and sell heroin. And he was also a convicted felon and was in possession of a firearm. So he was arrested. So we have dad arrested, brother arrested, and now Abston arrested. Just a long history of being in trouble I don’t understand personally why someone who’s been in trouble for so long, and continues to have issues with aggravated assault and weapons, theft and rape, all these things are huge crimes. I don’t understand why he was released from prison four years early, just because he cooked and cleaned at the prison? I don’t know if you all agree with me not, but that’s kind of my stance on it, and in doing my studies, I just… Those are things that bug me about this case. (18:27)
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