A new video has emerged that shows suspect Cleotha Abston, 38, cleaning his SUV in which he allegedly kidnapped Memphis teacher Eliza Fletcher, hours after her disappearance on Friday. The video captures Abston driving to his brother Mario's residence in the Longview Gardens apartment building around 8 a.m. on Friday.
Fletcher, 34, was kidnapped and bundled into the SUV less than four hours earlier while she was out on an early morning jog close to the University of Memphis. Fletcher was finally found dead, with her body dumped in a dumpster on Monday evening. Police confirmed her death on Tuesday four days after she went missing.
Moments after Chilling Abduction
The newly released surveillance camera footage captures the moments after Abston allegedly kidnapped Fletcher. It is still not known how he killed Fletcher as police continue with their investigation.
It is also not known if Fletcher had already died by the time Abston is seen cleaning the SUV in the newly released video footage. According to WREG, the video was taken outside Mario Abston's house on Friday morning, about the time when Fletcher's disappearance was reported to the police.
According to the station, the 95-second video shows Abston driving a GMC Terrain back to his apartment in Longview Garden in South Memphis at 7:57 a.m.
In the video, Abston can be seen parking his car after reaching the complex where his brother lives.
After a while, Abston is seen getting up as he starts walking over to the car's trunk. It's not clear what he took out of the trunk but it appears to be supplies. Police claim in an affidavit that Abston washed clothes in a sink after kidnapping Fletcher on Friday morning and cleaned the inside of the GMC Terrain used in the kidnapping.
According to the police, Ms. Fletcher had suffered serious injuries in the attack, and an inspection of the SUV revealed that she had lost a substantial amount of blood.
According to the affidavit, Mario Abston reportedly informed authorities that his brother was acting "strangely".
Mystery Continues
US Marshals arrested Abston on Saturday and charged him with kidnapping the heiress. In addition, he was accused of tampering with evidence due to his attempts to clean the automobile and his clothing.
Fletcher, a mother of two, was found dead nearby an apartment complex earlier on Tuesday, according to investigators in Memphis. Her body was discovered behind a home in the area. Fletcher, an heiress to the billion-dollar Orgill hardware fortune, is survived by her husband, Richie, and their two children.
Abston has since been charged with two counts of first degree murder. Police claimed in a revised affidavit submitted on Tuesday that Mr. Abston's SUV was visible on security footage in the vicinity of Fletcher's body discovery.
According to Cerelyn Davis, chief of the Memphis Police Department, Mr. Abston has refused to cooperate with investigators.
Fletcher's family issued a statement after learning of the finding of her remains and the filing of fresh charges against Abston, in which they referred to her death as a "senseless loss."
"Liza was such a joy to so many - her family, friends, colleagues, students, parents, members of her congregation, and everyone who knew her," a part of the statement read.
Her family also expressed gratitude to law enforcement for its efforts in finding Fletcher and capturing Abston. "We are grateful beyond measure to local, state and federal law enforcement for their tireless efforts to find Liza and to bring justice to the person for this horrible crime," they said in a statement.
Before the body was identified on Monday night, Mario Abston's neighbor April Jackson, 30, told DailyMail.com, "It's emotional, it really hurts."
"That could have been anybody out jogging that morning, a student, anyone. And he was just released two years ago for another abduction and he gets out and does it again,"she said.
Nearly 30 minutes before Fletcher was abducted, Abston had been jogging in the area from where she went missing.
A neighbor of Mario Abston revealed exclusively to DailyMail.com on Sunday that she had seen the suspect at his brother's home almost daily for the past month.
24 minutes prior to the mother-of-kidnapping two's in Memphis, Tennessee, at 4:20 a.m., police in Memphis, Tennessee, had surveillance footage of the vehicle involved in the incident.
Police have footage of the SUV used in the kidnapping in the same area 24 minutes before Fletcher was taken at 4:20 am in Memphis, Tennessee.
