Eliza Fletcher and Memphis Target abductions highlight violent crime in city: 'Outpouring of public concern'

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Eliza Fletcher's body found in Memphis days after abduction

Fox News correspondent Laura Ingle reports the latest on the case of 34-year-old Eliza Fletcher, whose body was discovered in Memphis, Tennessee.

Memphis has ranked among the most violent cities in the United States for years, and the Eliza Fletcher abduction and murder case is shining a light on the city's crime woes. 

Fletcher, a kindergarten teacher and mother of two, was kidnaped last week while running near the University of Memphis, forced into a van, and murdered in a seemingly random act. The suspected perpetrator, Cleotha Abston Henderson, served about 20 years of a 24-year sentence for kidnapping another victim at gunpoint before he was released in 2020.

"To lose someone so young and vital is a tragedy, but to have it result from a senseless act of violence is unimaginable," Shelby County District Attorney Steven Mulroy said in a Tuesday tweet. "…Any murder is a tragedy. Any murder in our jurisdiction is high priority. All deserve our care and best efforts. This one has triggered an extraordinary outpouring of public concern which motivates this message."

He added that his office will "work to do justice in this case and all other cases in the hopes we can prevent such tragedies."

ELIZA FLETCHER DEATH: MEMPHIS KIDNAPPING SUSPECT CLEOTHA ABSTON HELD WITHOUT BOND

Fletcher's kidnapping and murder came days after a mother and her 1-year-old baby were abducted at gunpoint from a Memphis Target store and driven to an ATM, where two suspects demanded the mother withdraw $800, after which the suspects released her. 

MEMPHIS KIDNAPPING SUSPECT STILL ON THE RUN AFTER ALLEGEDLY ABDUCTING MOTHER, BABY FROM TARGET

Authorities arrested and charged one suspect, Will Hayes, while the other is still on the run.

"The second suspect is still unidentified. This is an ongoing investigation," the Memphis Police Department (MPD) said in a Tuesday Facebook post.

Days before both abductions, MPD announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a suspect assured of fatally shooting Terry Henderson Jr. "multiple times." Police believe the perpetrator shot Henderson "for his car."

While Memphis is relatively small among major U.S. cities — with a population of fewer than 700,000 within city limits and just over 1 million in the metropolitan area — it has one of the highest murder rates per 100,000 people in the country, ranking fourth in 2020.

ELIZA FLETCHER MURDER SUSPECT'S RECORD WAS ‘SO BAD’ PAROLE SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN GRANTED, DA SAYS

There has fortunately been a 6.1% drop in the city's violent crime rate so far this year. Overall crime rose, however, by 8.2%, according to preliminary figures from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) analyzed by the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission and shared with WERG.

BB King's Company Store and music venues in legendary Beale Street entertainment district of Memphis, Tennessee, USA (Tim Graham)

Among violent crime incidents, 70% involved firearms, WERG reported, citing the crime commission, which did not immediately respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital.

"During the peak pandemic year of 2020, we had a very disturbing increase in violent crime, as did most cities across the country," said crime commission president Bill Gibbons told the outlet. "Unlike many other cities, we saw a leveling off in 2021, and we now see a decline. We have a long way to go but are moving in the right direction. The hard, smart work of law enforcement and prosecutors and the involvement of concerned citizens have all played a role."

Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, who also serves as Speaker of the Tennessee State Senate, said in a Tuesday tweet that Fletcher's murder was "as heinous as it was preventable."

"The monster that committed this crime was not unknown to the criminal justice system. He had done this type of thing before and now he has done it again — and worse," McNally wrote. "It is simply disgraceful that this individual did not serve his full sentence for his previous crimes. If he had, Eliza Fletcher would be alive today. This case not only proves that the recently passed Truth in Sentencing Act was necessary, but that it was long overdue."

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Tennessee's Truth in Sentencing Act took effect in June. The law aims to ensure that violent criminals serve out their full sentencing time in prison. Critics of the law have argued that it does not allow convicted criminals a chance to turn their lives around.

"We must redouble our efforts to make sure that those who transgress against citizens are punished — and severely," McNally continued in his tweet. "Not only must evildoers pay the full price for their crimes, that punishment must serve as a warning that these actions simply will not be tolerated in our society."