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Runner Vanishes Mid-Stride and a Pair of Sandals Breaks the Case
Runner Vanishes Mid-Stride and a Pair of Sandals Breaks the Case
At four in the morning, a kindergarten teacher rounded a corner she had turned hundreds of times when a dark SUV stopped in front of her and a door swung open. Within seconds she was gone. What she left on the pavement — a phone, a water bottle, and a pair of sandals no one recognized — became the thread that unraveled everything. Whose sandals were they?
In this episode, we analyze the abduction and murder of Eliza Fletcher in Memphis. We examine the four minutes the SUV sat motionless, the DNA on the stranger's sandals, the suspect's long violent history, and the rape kit that sat unprocessed for nine months. When the system already had the answer, why did it arrive three days too late?
Victim: Eliza Fletcher
Age: 34 years old
Date: September 2, 2022
Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Perpetrator: Cleopa Abston
Outcome: Pleaded guilty; life without parole
- Eliza Fletcher, a 34-year-old kindergarten teacher, was abducted during her pre-dawn run near the University of Memphis on September 2, 2022.
- A pair of sandals left at the scene did not belong to her, and DNA from them matched Cleopa Abston within hours.
- Abston had a long violent history, including a prior kidnapping and the 2021 rape of Alicia Franklin, whose kit sat unprocessed for nine months.
- Eliza's body was found three days later behind an abandoned duplex; she had been shot in the head.
- Abston pleaded guilty and received life without parole plus eighty years, and the case spurred a Tennessee law tracking rape-kit processing.
To listen ad-free and access premium episodes, start your 30-day free trial at obomedia.com
OBOMEDIA presents true crime storiesa true crime podcast built on real cases.
Every true crime story in our crime files follows the crime investigation from the missing person report to the trial: investigators and police building a murder case, a police investigation gone cold, justice for the victim and those who survived.
We open the unsolved murder, the cold case reopened decades later, the mysterious death, the disappearance, the serial killer, the family murder, the murder mystery; the missing persons a missing woman, a missing girl, a missing man found dead and the missing and murdered.
From the infamous case to the unsolved case, from classic true crime to dark true crime and disturbing true crime: true crime reports, real crime stories, real murder cases, true murder stories and unsolved mysteries one true crime case at a time, from the OBOMEDIA true crime vault.
© 2026 Created with OBOMEDIA technology. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text and related materials) are the property of their respective creator and are distributed under the OBOMEDIA name on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing and business inquirie
At four in the morning, a kindergarten teacher rounded a corner she had turned hundreds of times when a dark SUV stopped in front of her and a door swung open. Within seconds she was gone. What she left on the pavement — a phone, a water bottle, and a pair of sandals no one recognized — became the thread that unraveled everything. Whose sandals were they?
In this episode, we analyze the abduction and murder of Eliza Fletcher in Memphis. We examine the four minutes the SUV sat motionless, the DNA on the stranger's sandals, the suspect's long violent history, and the rape kit that sat unprocessed for nine months. When the system already had the answer, why did it arrive three days too late?
Victim: Eliza Fletcher
Age: 34 years old
Date: September 2, 2022
Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Perpetrator: Cleopa Abston
Outcome: Pleaded guilty; life without parole
- Eliza Fletcher, a 34-year-old kindergarten teacher, was abducted during her pre-dawn run near the University of Memphis on September 2, 2022.
- A pair of sandals left at the scene did not belong to her, and DNA from them matched Cleopa Abston within hours.
- Abston had a long violent history, including a prior kidnapping and the 2021 rape of Alicia Franklin, whose kit sat unprocessed for nine months.
- Eliza's body was found three days later behind an abandoned duplex; she had been shot in the head.
- Abston pleaded guilty and received life without parole plus eighty years, and the case spurred a Tennessee law tracking rape-kit processing.
To listen ad-free and access premium episodes, start your 30-day free trial at obomedia.com
OBOMEDIA presents true crime storiesa true crime podcast built on real cases.
Every true crime story in our crime files follows the crime investigation from the missing person report to the trial: investigators and police building a murder case, a police investigation gone cold, justice for the victim and those who survived.
We open the unsolved murder, the cold case reopened decades later, the mysterious death, the disappearance, the serial killer, the family murder, the murder mystery; the missing persons a missing woman, a missing girl, a missing man found dead and the missing and murdered.
From the infamous case to the unsolved case, from classic true crime to dark true crime and disturbing true crime: true crime reports, real crime stories, real murder cases, true murder stories and unsolved mysteries one true crime case at a time, from the OBOMEDIA true crime vault.
© 2026 Created with OBOMEDIA technology. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text and related materials) are the property of their respective creator and are distributed under the OBOMEDIA name on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing and business inquirie
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By Creator at ObomediaRunner Vanishes Mid-Stride and a Pair of Sandals Breaks the Case
At four in the morning, a kindergarten teacher rounded a corner she had turned hundreds of times when a dark SUV stopped in front of her and a door swung open. Within seconds she was gone. What she left on the pavement — a phone, a water bottle, and a pair of sandals no one recognized — became the thread that unraveled everything. Whose sandals were they?
In this episode, we analyze the abduction and murder of Eliza Fletcher in Memphis. We examine the four minutes the SUV sat motionless, the DNA on the stranger's sandals, the suspect's long violent history, and the rape kit that sat unprocessed for nine months. When the system already had the answer, why did it arrive three days too late?
Victim: Eliza Fletcher
Age: 34 years old
Date: September 2, 2022
Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Perpetrator: Cleopa Abston
Outcome: Pleaded guilty; life without parole
- Eliza Fletcher, a 34-year-old kindergarten teacher, was abducted during her pre-dawn run near the University of Memphis on September 2, 2022.
- A pair of sandals left at the scene did not belong to her, and DNA from them matched Cleopa Abston within hours.
- Abston had a long violent history, including a prior kidnapping and the 2021 rape of Alicia Franklin, whose kit sat unprocessed for nine months.
- Eliza's body was found three days later behind an abandoned duplex; she had been shot in the head.
- Abston pleaded guilty and received life without parole plus eighty years, and the case spurred a Tennessee law tracking rape-kit processing.
To listen ad-free and access premium episodes, start your 30-day free trial at obomedia.com
OBOMEDIA presents true crime storiesa true crime podcast built on real cases.
Every true crime story in our crime files follows the crime investigation from the missing person report to the trial: investigators and police building a murder case, a police investigation gone cold, justice for the victim and those who survived.
We open the unsolved murder, the cold case reopened decades later, the mysterious death, the disappearance, the serial killer, the family murder, the murder mystery; the missing persons a missing woman, a missing girl, a missing man found dead and the missing and murdered.
From the infamous case to the unsolved case, from classic true crime to dark true crime and disturbing true crime: true crime reports, real crime stories, real murder cases, true murder stories and unsolved mysteries one true crime case at a time, from the OBOMEDIA true crime vault.
© 2026 Created with OBOMEDIA technology. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text and related materials) are the property of their respective creator and are distributed under the OBOMEDIA name on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing and business inquirie
At four in the morning, a kindergarten teacher rounded a corner she had turned hundreds of times when a dark SUV stopped in front of her and a door swung open. Within seconds she was gone. What she left on the pavement — a phone, a water bottle, and a pair of sandals no one recognized — became the thread that unraveled everything. Whose sandals were they?
In this episode, we analyze the abduction and murder of Eliza Fletcher in Memphis. We examine the four minutes the SUV sat motionless, the DNA on the stranger's sandals, the suspect's long violent history, and the rape kit that sat unprocessed for nine months. When the system already had the answer, why did it arrive three days too late?
Victim: Eliza Fletcher
Age: 34 years old
Date: September 2, 2022
Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Perpetrator: Cleopa Abston
Outcome: Pleaded guilty; life without parole
- Eliza Fletcher, a 34-year-old kindergarten teacher, was abducted during her pre-dawn run near the University of Memphis on September 2, 2022.
- A pair of sandals left at the scene did not belong to her, and DNA from them matched Cleopa Abston within hours.
- Abston had a long violent history, including a prior kidnapping and the 2021 rape of Alicia Franklin, whose kit sat unprocessed for nine months.
- Eliza's body was found three days later behind an abandoned duplex; she had been shot in the head.
- Abston pleaded guilty and received life without parole plus eighty years, and the case spurred a Tennessee law tracking rape-kit processing.
To listen ad-free and access premium episodes, start your 30-day free trial at obomedia.com
OBOMEDIA presents true crime storiesa true crime podcast built on real cases.
Every true crime story in our crime files follows the crime investigation from the missing person report to the trial: investigators and police building a murder case, a police investigation gone cold, justice for the victim and those who survived.
We open the unsolved murder, the cold case reopened decades later, the mysterious death, the disappearance, the serial killer, the family murder, the murder mystery; the missing persons a missing woman, a missing girl, a missing man found dead and the missing and murdered.
From the infamous case to the unsolved case, from classic true crime to dark true crime and disturbing true crime: true crime reports, real crime stories, real murder cases, true murder stories and unsolved mysteries one true crime case at a time, from the OBOMEDIA true crime vault.
© 2026 Created with OBOMEDIA technology. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text and related materials) are the property of their respective creator and are distributed under the OBOMEDIA name on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing and business inquirie