Man accused of kidnapping, killing Eliza Fletcher sentenced to 80 years in prison for rape

Corinne S Kennedy, Memphis Commercial Appeal
·1 min read
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Cleotha Abston-Henderson, the man charged with the abduction and killing of Eliza Fletcher, listens to Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Lee V. Coffee during a court appearance in which Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy announced that his office would seek the death penalty in the case against Abston-Henderson at the Shelby County Criminal Court in Memphis, Tenn., on Thursday, July 6, 2023.

Cleotha Abston has been sentenced to 80 years in prison for the rape of Alicia Frankin, the Shelby County District Attorney's office said Friday.

A Shelby County jury last month delivered a guilty verdict against Cleotha Abston in an alleged 2021 rape. Abston has also been charged with the kidnapping and killing of Eliza Fletcher. That case is expected to go to trial later this year.

“We've been committed to justice for Alicia Franklin and Liza Fletcher since the awful crimes against them," Deputy District Attorney Paul Hagerman said in a statement. "My office asked for, and he received an 80-year maximum sentence with no possibility of parole."

Abston had been indicted in the Franklin case for three different counts — aggravated rape, especially aggravated kidnapping and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. In April, the jury found him guilty of aggravated rape, being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun and the lesser charge of aggravated kidnapping.

"His violent history and these crimes demand sentences that ensure he'll get out of prison, ever.  This sentence alone ensures that—but we are not done," Hagerman said.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Cleotha Abston sentenced to 80 years in prison for Alicia Franklin rape