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According to a former federal law enforcement officer, the Memphis Police Department did not properly look into a 2021 rape that was reportedly perpetrated by the same person who is suspected of killing Eliza Fletcher.
According to reports, a former federal prosecutor criticized Memphis police for failing to pursue a rape case against a suspect who would go on to abduct and murder Tennessee mother Eliza Fletcher.
A suspect who would eventually abduct and kill Tennessee mother Eliza Fletcher was accused of rape, and a veteran federal prosecutor reportedly criticized Memphis police for not aggressively pursuing the case.
Police Fail to Properly Investigate Eliza Fletcher's Killer
While that case was pending, Fletcher, a married mother, was reportedly kidnapped by Henderson last month while she was out for a jog. A few days later, her body was found behind an abandoned house. Rahmani claimed that Memphis police have enough justification for seeking an arrest in the rape case from 2021.
Alicia Franklin, Henderson's accuser, claimed she initially connected with him via an app in August 2021 and that their first meeting took place in front of his apartment complex the following month. Franklin claimed that Henderson, 38, threatened to kill her, blindfolded her with a T-shirt, and brought her into an empty apartment. She claimed he then forced her into a car and sexually assaulted her there.
Rahmani claimed that after a forensic lab's DNA evidence took longer than expected to return, investigators seemed to have let the investigation go cold. He did, however, claim to Fox that there were other routes they might have taken to ensure an arrest and that a tragedy could have been prevented.
Just days after Fletcher vanished, police sent a rape kit off for analysis, but it wasn't returned until early this September, as per New York Post.
The lawsuit claims that Henderson and Franklin connected through an online dating service in August 2021 and that their meeting was intended to be the first date. According to the lawsuit, Henderson used the user name Cleo on the dating app.
Henderson's last location was in Memphis, where the two had met for a date. It is said that while brandishing a gun and threatening to kill the woman, he forced her into a vacant apartment within the complex.
The lawsuit adds that Henderson allegedly dragged the lady into the backseat of a car and raped her before blindfolding her with a T-shirt and threatening to murder her, according to Fox News.
Henderson, 38, is accused of killing Fletcher, an heiress, and mother of two, while she was out jogging on the morning of September 2, 2022. She is also accused of tampering with evidence and exceptionally aggravated kidnapping.
In a September 2021 incident with Alicia Franklin, another Memphis lady, he was again accused of aggravated rape. Franklin claimed in his lawsuit that the Memphis Police Department failed to properly investigate the event.
Henderson allegedly escaped punishment because of that failure. Authorities claim that the young mother and instructor were abducted and forced inside Henderson's dark-colored GMC Terrain.
Cleotha Henderson Waives Preliminary Hearings
According to WKRN, a gunshot to the head and blunt force trauma were determined to be the causes of death. The Memphis Police Department did not request an expedited analysis of the sexual assault kit from the September 2021 incident, a Tennessee Bureau of Investigations official said.
The spokesman added that if a request for expedited processing had been made, results might have been available in five working days and claimed that no suspect information or DNA standard was provided in the submission.
Additionally, the lawsuit claims that when the crime was reported, police took no tangible evidence straight from the crime scene itself. Franklin alleges she heard police say, Maybe we need to show her a newer picture - this one is 10 to 12 years old when she failed to recognize the suspect in a lineup.
To make matters worse, Henderson was previously found guilty of kidnapping and robbing Memphis lawyer Kemper Durand. It has his DNA on it.
Henderson is detained without posting a bond. According to WREG, the Shelby County District Attorney's Office reported that he waived his preliminary hearings on Wednesday. The charges against Henderson will now be discussed by the grand jury. The case will go to criminal court if an indictment is made, Bizpac Review reported.
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