TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Julia Wilburn on Apr 8, 2024

Jury selection began Monday in the first of two criminal cases against Cleotha Abston, who is accused of the 2021 rape of Alicia Franklin. He is also charged separately in the 2022 kidnapping and killing of Memphis schoolteacher Eliza Fletcher. The Daily Memphian reports that the trial on Abston’s charges in the Franklin case — including aggravated rape and aggravated kidnapping — is expected to last through the week, and the jury will be sequestered. Abston will go on trial for Fletcher's murder later this year.