Bond revoked for man accused of killing Tennessee jogger Eliza Fletcher

A judge on Wednesday revoked bond for the man accused of kidnapping and killing Tennessee jogger Eliza Fletcher. Cleotha Abston, 38, is charged with first-degree murder, especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence in connection with Fletcher’s disappearance and death. 

In the brief court appearance, the judge noted that while his bond had previously been set at approximately $500,000, Abston had not been facing the murder charge at the time. The judge ordered him held without bond on the new charge. 

Abston, dressed in a green jumpsuit and black mask, was quiet as the judge spoke. 

The court appearance comes a day after police confirmed that a body they found in a Memphis neighborhood on Monday was the 34-year-old Fletcher. She was last seen on surveillance video being forced into an SUV while she was jogging near the University of Memphis early Friday morning.

According to the chief, it was too early for investigators to determine how and where Fletcher died. Her body was found behind a vacant duplex, Davis said.

A police affidavit said officers noticed vehicle tracks next to the duplex’s driveway and smelled an odor. Purple running shorts consistent with the shorts Fletcher was wearing were found in a discarded trash bag nearby, the affidavit said.

“We have no reason to think this was anything other than an isolated attack by a stranger,” Steven Mulroy, the district attorney for Shelby County, told reporters.

Abston appeared before a judge on Tuesday on charges of kidnapping, tampering with evidence, theft, identity theft and fraudulent use of a credit card. Relatives of Fletcher and more than 20 media members were in the courtroom.

At that appearance, Abston was issued a $510,000 bond. Abston said he could not afford bond or a lawyer. 

U.S. Marshals arrested Abston on Saturday after police detected his DNA on a pair of sandals found near where Fletcher was last seen, according to an arrest affidavit.

Cellphone records allegedly pinged Abston to the area at the time of the kidnapping, CBS News correspondent Elise Preston reports. According to records, Abston’s brother told police he spotted Abston acting strange and washing the interior of his car with floor cleaner.

Police also linked the vehicle they believe was used in the kidnapping to a person at a home where Abston was staying.

Fletcher, a mother of two and a school teacher, is the granddaughter of the late Joseph Orgill III, a Memphis hardware businessman and philanthropist. The family offered a $50,000 reward for information in the case.

In a statement Tuesday, the family said they were “grateful beyond measure” to authorities for finding Fletcher and for arresting a suspect.

“We are heartbroken and devastated by this senseless loss,” the family said. “Liza was a such a joy to so many … Now it’s time to remember and celebrate how special she was and to support those who cared so much for her.”

Abston previously kidnapped a prominent Memphis attorney in 2000, the Commercial Appeal reported. When he was just 16 years old, Abston forced Kemper Durand into the trunk of his own car at gunpoint. After several hours, Abston took Durand out and forced him to drive to a Mapco gas station to withdraw money from an ATM.

At the station, an armed Memphis Housing Authority guard walked in and Durand yelled for help. Abston ran away but was found and arrested. He pleaded guilty in 2001 to especially aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery, according to court records. He received a 24-year sentence.