Eliza Fletcher, a mother of two and a kindergarten teacher, “would be alive today” if her accused killer had been jailed for a prior rape he allegedly committed, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said on Wednesday.
Fletcher, 34, was jogging near her home on the University of Memphis campus on Sept. 2 during the early morning hours when she was abducted, forced into an SUV, and murdered.
Cleotha Abston, a 38-year-old career criminal who spent decades behind bars for kidnapping and also appeared in court for prior rape cases, was arrested several days later in connection to Fletcher’s murder. He was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals after investigators found his DNA on a pair of sandals recovered near where Fletcher was last seen, according to an arrest affidavit….