Eliza Fletcher’s funeral will be held Saturday, her family announced – at the Memphis church where she met and married her husband. The 34-year-old beloved preschool teacher was abducted and murdered last week – abducted as she went on her usual 4.30am run in Memphis. A 38-year-old career criminal serving 20 years in prison for kidnapping, Cleotha Abston, was charged with her murder. On Thursday, the family confirmed details of her funeral, which will be held at 10 a.m. at Second Presbyterian Church. Fletcher met her husband Richard at the church and the couple married there in March 2014. The couple became the parents of what her obituary described as “two rambunctious, happy boys Richard James Fletcher IV and Harry Wellford Fletcher.” The obituary said: “She loved her family fiercely and unconditionally. Together as a family, they enjoyed outdoor adventures such as boating, water sports, hiking, running and biking. She was deeply admired by her family and friends for her passionate dedication to motherhood.’ Eliza Fletcher is pictured on her wedding day in March 2014, with her new husband Richard. The couple met at Second Presbyterian Church Eliza Fletcher’s funeral will be held on Saturday at Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis (pictured) – where she met and married her husband, Richard Fletcher was pictured with her husband Richie and their two children. Family described her as a ‘special’ woman who was taken from her in a ‘senseless’ way The family also praised her strong faith. “She walked true and fashioned the Christian life and trusted in her steadfast faith,” they wrote. “Lisa was a light to all who knew her. Her contagious smile and laugh could light up any room. Lisa was pure at heart and innocent in ways that made her see the best in everyone she met. To know her was to love her and she loved you.’ They noticed the huge interest in her story and her untimely death. “Her impact is extraordinary, as witnessed in prayer groups, vigils at the homes of friends and family, church and school gatherings, and memorial drives and walks held in her honor,” they wrote. Fletcher was last seen at around 4.20am. on Friday when she was jogging (right) in Memphis and a man approached her and forced her into an SUV after a brief argument, police said. A Facebook group has been set up to coordinate Friday’s run in Fletcher’s memory Cleotha Abston, pictured in 2000, was first arrested when she was just 11 and was in and out of juvenile court 16 times over five years before kidnapping a lawyer Friday morning at 4:30 a.m., a group of women plans to run 8.2 miles in honor of the slain jogger, describing the fact that her run is over. “The outpouring of love and grief would have taken Lisa by surprise, who never thought or acted like it was anything special – although it certainly was.” The family asks that anyone who wishes to contribute make a donation to a fund set up in her memory at St. Mary’s Episcopal School, where she taught, or the church that played such a large role in her life. Memphis magazine called her wedding the “wedding of the year.” After the church ceremony, the couple held their reception at Dixon Gallery and Gardens, with a rustic woodland theme under a see-through marquee with fairy lights. Fletcher, whose grandfather founded a Memphis-based hardware distributor with $3.2 billion in revenue last year, wanted the wedding to reflect her outdoorsy personality. Guests were treated to a champagne and seafood bar, bluegrass musicians in the woods and an interior described by Memphis magazine as “a wonderland of flowers and ferns cascading from the ceiling.” An Alabama artist, Ronald Bayens, was commissioned to paint the event as it happened. “There is no other wedding like this in Memphis,” said the wedding planning team, Russell and Ruthie Events. Cleotha Abston, 38, appeared in court charged with the first-degree murder of Eliza Fletcher, 34, and could face the death penalty. He has yet to plead to the charges against him, but his public defender is considering a gag order Eliza Fletcher, 34, (pictured) was abducted after being forced into a black SUV on Friday. Cleotha Abston, 38, has been charged with her abduction and is to be charged with her murder after her body was found in long grass at an abandoned house.
On Thursday Abston appeared in court in Memphis, Tennessee, charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and tampering with evidence – with the judge again denying him bail ahead of another hearing on September 19.
Jennifer Case, his public defender, initially argued there was a conflict of interest in representing him because her office had worked with him on a previous criminal case in the early 2000s.
But the matter was dismissed by the judge, Louis Montesi Jr, despite agreeing to hear her arguments about a gag order at a later hearing.
Case argued that certain aspects of the case should not be made public after Memphis Police Chief CJ David called Abston a “dangerous predator.”
Tennessee is a death penalty state, and prosecutors said Thursday they were not ruling it out if he is convicted.
Abston wore a green prison-issued jumpsuit and a mask and spoke only to his public defender during the brief hearing.
