MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office said Wednesday that the man charged with kidnapping and killing Eliza Fletcher has waived his right to a preliminary hearing.
The D.A. said that means the case against Cleotha Henderson will now go back to a grand jury, and if indicted, the case will move to criminal court. Henderson continues to be held without bond pending indictment.
Fletcher was running on the University of Memphis campus when police said she was forced into a vehicle after a struggle about 4 a.m. Sept 2, 2022. Investigators said her body was found Sept. 5 behind a vacant home after a massive search lasting more than three days.
Henderson, who also has gone by the name Cleotha Abston, has been charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping in the case. U.S. Marshals arrested him a day after the abduction after police detected his DNA on a pair of sandals found near where Fletcher was last seen, according to an arrest affidavit.
After he was charged with killing Fletcher, Henderson was charged with raping a woman in September 2021 — about a year before Fletcher was killed. Henderson was not arrested on rape charges before Fletcher's killing because evidence from a sexual assault kit test had not been available at the time, authorities have said.
Henderson also previously kidnapped a prominent Memphis attorney in 2000 when he was 16 years old. He spent 20 years in prison for that crime.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.