Why is Alicia Franklin suing Memphis? Woman files lawsuit against authorities over the death of Eliza Fletcher

On September 5, 2022 Eliza Fletcher, a Tennessee teacher, was found dead just days after her violent kidnapping on Friday, September 2, 2022. Fletcher's kidnapping was seen on surveillance cameras the same day.

Days after all of this happened, another woman, Alicia Franklin, is suing the city of Memphis and its police force. The lawsuit was filed on the grounds that the police allegedly mishandled the investigation into Franklin's r*pe that would have led to the capture of the person who kidnapped and killed Fletcher. Franklin alleged that she was r*ped by Cleotha Abston, who has now been identified as Fletcher's killer.

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Authorities were allegedly aware of the individual suspected of killing Eliza Fletcher

Alicia Franklin was allegedly assaulted by Abston last year, but the DNA findings from her r*pe kit weren't released publicly until Eliza Fletcher went missing. Additionally, Franklin stated that she had given Abston's name, phone number, social media handles and the details of his car to the police.

However, in a statement, she revealed that the police had "more than enough evidence" when they interviewed her to get Cleotha off the streets. Despite that, the police didn't arrest him.

Additionally, the Daily Beast reported that police officers were aware of the person suspected of killing Fletcher, according to Franklin's attorney, Gary Smith. Smith noted:

“They knew who it was, they did nothing, and as a result, Eliza Fletcher winds up murdered when [the suspect] should have been in jail. If they had done their job, she’d be alive.”

According to reports, Franklin met Cleotha Abston, who she knew as Cleo, on a dating site in 2021. Alicia said that the two had planned to meet at an apartment where Cleo worked before they had dinner.

In the lawsuit, she stated that Abston had threatened to kill her, held her at gunpoint before leading her to his car while blindfolding her. He allegedly r*ped her after forcing her into the backseat of his car.

Franklin claimed that after everything, Cleo allegedly held her at gunpoint again inside the empty apartment before he drove off as she managed to flee. She said that she then drove herself to a hospital where she was handed a r*pe kit and interrogated by a s*x crimes detective. Following this, Franklin went to a R*pe Crisis Center.

Franklin's lawsuit claims that the Memphis police turned over the former's r*pe kit to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on September 23, 2021. However, they didn't request to have it rushed to them for analysis. The lawsuit states that this alone might have resulted in Cleotha's arrest and potentially prevented Eliza Fletcher's death.

Gary Smith said that apart from DNA testing, police had "numerous other ways" to catch him right in front of them.

According to the New York Post, Cleotha Abston was charged with aggravated kidnapping on September 4, in connection with the disappearance of Eliza Fletcher. His purpose for the 34-year-old's kidnapping is still unknown.