Did armchair sleuths on social media jump to the wrong conclusions?
Here's why a stream of Twitter apologies followed some truly shocking accusations.
On September 2, Tennessee teacher Eliza Fletcher was out for an early morning jog when she
was abducted within the vicinity of the University of Memphis.
After a suspect driving a GMC Terrain wrestled her into the vehicle and fled the scene, law
enforcement officials found themselves racing against time to find Fletcher.
Fletcher's disappearance quickly garnered the attention of true crime podcasters and
social media users.
It didn't take long for people to start drawing parallels between Fletcher and travel vlogger
Gabby Petito, whose boyfriend Brian Laundrie confessed to killing her in a written statement
before he committed suicide, per People.
Some Twitter users suggested that Petito and Fletcher's cases have only received so much
attention because of their appearances and backgrounds.
According to the New York Post, Fletcher's family owns Orgill, a hardware company worth
billions, prompting one Twitter user to write,
"How exactly do the 600,000+ people who go missing annually get equal coverage?
What about the 300,000+ white women who are not wealthy or pretty (or caught on video)
who don't get the same coverage as Eliza Fletcher & Gabby Petito?"
Others immediately turned their attention to Fletcher's husband, with one Twitter user
writing,
"In the Eliza Fletcher case, I feel like the husband has something to do with it.
I could be wrong, but it's the feeling I have."
As reported by Fox News, it was Eliza Fletcher's husband, Richard Fletcher III, who reported
her missing.
He also appeared alongside other members of Eliza's family in a video, and could be seen
wiping tears from his eyes as Eliza's uncle read a statement.
Initially, some Twitter users were convinced that his crying was not genuine.
However, an update in the case quickly had some armchair detectives apologizing for their
theories.
On September 4, police arrested a suspect named Cleotha Abston on a kidnapping charge,
per Fox 13.
Abston reportedly wouldn't cooperate with police or reveal Eliza's whereabouts.
A body was later discovered close to where Abston was spotted cleaning a GMC Terrain
that police had connected to Eliza's disappearance.
"Police say they traced Cleotha Abston through DNA found on the flip flops left at the crime
scene."
On September 6, the body was identified as being that of Eliza Fletcher.
The news of Abston's arrest had some calling out those who jumped to conclusions about
Eliza's husband.
One Twitter user wrote,
"Her husband deserves an apology from the internet sleuths that heard a rumor and ran
with it."
However, not everyone was apologetic, and some continued wildly speculating about Richard,
with one Twitter user writing,
"My apologies to the husband unless you hired this guy."
Meanwhile, another skeptical Twitter user wrote,
"Oddly, her very wealthy granddad just passed away & she probably stands or was going to
inherited a ton of [money] […] Did anyone truly investigate the husband?"
During a press conference, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy addressed the rampant
rumors about Eliza Fletcher's death, stating,
"We have no reason to believe this was anything other than an isolated attack by a stranger."
Eliza's suspected killer was previously arrested for kidnapping in 2000, according to the Associated
Press.
Abston spent two decades behind bars after he pulled a gun on Memphis lawyer Kemper Durand
and held him captive inside the vehicle's trunk while he drove to another location.
Abston, who was 16 at the time, eventually tried to force Durand to make an ATM withdrawal
at a gas station, but the kidnapper fled when Durand cried out to alert an armed guard about
what was going on.
In connection with Eliza's death, Abston faces first-degree murder charges in addition to
kidnapping charges, per Fox 13.
According to Memphis magazine, Eliza and Richard Fletcher III first met at the Second Presbyterian
Church in Memphis, which is also where they got married in March 2014.
The couple's pastor revealed that church was an important part of the Fletchers' lives,
telling Commercial Appeal,
"They have two little boys who have come up to me every week and give me a hug."
Eliza also leaves behind the many students whose lives she touched while teaching at
St. Mary's Episcopal School, and she will be sadly missed.