>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6_DLzLGlfI
>
>We the People are sick of the tyrannical dictator Demonrats.
>
>

You want a dictatorship. Soon it will be time to cull anti American filth
like you. Your traitorous cult must cease to exist. Trump will be in
prison and you will be too, if you're not dead first. Then on to killing
Putin. A dead enemy is a good enemy.

On 10/14/24 2:17 AM, Leroy N. Soetoro wrote:
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6_DLzLGlfI
>>
>> We the People are sick of the tyrannical dictator Demonrats.
>>
>>
>
> You want a dictatorship. Soon it will be time to cull anti American filth
> like you. Your traitorous cult must cease to exist. Trump will be in
> prison and you will be too, if you're not dead first. Then on to killing
> Putin. A dead enemy is a good enemy.

Umm ... the tone of THAT rhetoric seems almost as
bad as the anti-2nd zealots.

Fanaticism is rarely a solution to fanaticism.

Kinda fixed-up the groups for you ... "outcome
based" education eh ? Poor bastard .....

https://media.tegna-media.com/assets/WATN/images/ddd4489e-5b90-4906-9af6-50406793ae84/ddd4489e-5b90-4906-9af6-50406793ae84_1920x1080.jpg
Credit: Shelby County Sheriff's Office
Quinton Wilson

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Shelby County Grand Jury has indicted a West Memphis firefighter charged in Memphis with raping a woman at gunpoint, the same man who was previously indicted in another assault.

Court records show Quinton Wilson was indicted Aug. 29, 2024, on charges of aggravated rape and aggravated kidnapping. His bond in that case was set at $150,000 bond.

According to court records, Wilson was indicted June 20, on charges of aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated robbery in another case. Bond was set at $700,000 in that case.

According to the police affidavit, Memphis Police responded to a call about a forcible rape on April 4, 2024, in the area of Harrell St. near Faxon Ave.

A woman told police she had been walking along Summer Ave. about 5 p.m. the day before when a man in dark gray vehicle approached. According to the affidavit, she accepted a ride from the man, later identified in a lineup as Wilson, but when she got in the car, he pulled out a gun.

The victim told investigators Wilson took her purse then drove her to an abandoned home, where he forced her to perform sex acts with the gun to her head. She said after that happened, he forced her out of the car. The affidavit said the victim was able to provide a license plate number.

According to the affidavit, MPD received a report of another similar sexual assault on April 7 with a man fitting the description in the first. Investigators said they were able to connect the license plate numbers in the two cases, and Wilson was the registered owner of the car and was identified by the victim in a photo lineup.

In response to the allegations against Wilson, the City of West Memphis released the following statement:

“It has come to our attention that a firefighter with the WMFD was arrested on charges stemming from warrants issued by the Memphis Police Department.

The City of West Memphis and the West Memphis Fire Department are deeply troubled by these allegations. We stand firm in our commitment to uphold the highest standards of conduct and integrity for all city employees. We are cooperating fully with the ongoing investigation and are taking all necessary steps to address this situation in accordance with the law and our internal policies.

We understand the seriousness of these charges and the impact they may have on our community's trust. Please be assured that we are working diligently to ensure the safety and well-being of all our citizens. We will provide updates as more information becomes available and as appropriate, considering the ongoing legal proceedings.”

https://www.localmemphis.com/article/news/crime/west-memphis-firefighter-charged-kidnapping-raping-woman-at-gunpoint-in-memphis/522-bc0da6bc-c9da-492e-ba08-8e82a333b59c

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Memphis Public Libraries is enhancing security at all branches after police arrested a man after he allegedly attacked and tried to rape a woman at the Cossitt Library on Monday.

“I’m alarmed as a parent of a 15-year-old who’s here at the library,” said Memphis resident Pamela Buford. “You think the library is a safe place.”

Hearing about the alleged attack left Memphians like Pamela Buford shocked and disturbed.

Her 15-year-old is one of several kids attending summer camp at the library in the last few weeks.

“By her attending camp, going off to the restroom you know, it’s alarming,” said Buford.

According to a police affidavit, a woman told police she was assaulted in the women’s restroom by 35-year-old Kevin Standberry.

The affidavit states the victim says Standberry came inside the bathroom, grabbed her, kissed her and touched her chest.

She was able get free and left the restroom. She told police after realizing she left her belongings, she went back to the bathroom and Standberry followed her.

This time, Standberry had his pants down exposing himself, grabbed her and tried to force her to have sex, according to the affidavit.

Police say a security officer saw Standberry leave the women’s restroom and he was then detained.

“They most definitely need to get security and keep a watch out for the ladies here,” said Memphis resident Jonathan Jordan. “If I was here, I probably would’ve helped, myself.”

Our crew did see a security officer outside of the library Tuesday.

Memphis Public Library Director Keenon McCloy tells Action News 5 security guards are at all branches and they plan to enhance security at all public library locations:

“We are grateful for the response of the security officer who detained the suspect and the Memphis Police Department for their quick action. Memphis Public Libraries currently utilizes security guards at all of our branches and have a plan to enhance security at all locations. We are committed to creating a safe and welcoming environment for customers.”

Pamela’s daughter Pharah says Tuesday was the first time she saw a security guard at the library in the last couple weeks.

“You should be doing that anyways without having something dramatic like that happening in the restroom, but I’m glad that security took action,” said Pharah Brooks.

Standberry is charged with attempted rape.

He is in jail on a $100,000 bond.

He’s expected to be in court Wednesday.

According to Memphis Police, since January 1, 2024, officers have responded to the library for one motor vehicle theft, a drunkenness call, a simple assault, a mental consumer call, multiple medical calls for possible overdoses and Monday’s attempted rape.

https://www.actionnews5.com/2024/07/03/memphis-public-libraries-enhancing-security-all-locations-after-attempted-rape-cossitt-library/

https://fox17.com/resources/media2/16x9/full/768/center/80/e7e4cb34-86e0-4ce9-b404-a4eaf98380e9-medium16x9_AP24138583064040.jpg
Cleotha Abston walks from the witness stand to his seat in a courtroom during his sentencing hearing for an April rape conviction on Friday, May 17, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. Abston received 80 years in prison for kidnapping and raping a woman in September 2021, a year before he was charged with killing a Memphis school teacher. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Tennessee man was sentenced to 80 years in prison Friday for raping a woman a year before he was charged with kidnapping and killing a school teacher who was on an early morning run.

Cleotha Abston, whose history of criminal charges dates back to the 1990s when he was a juvenile, received 40 years in prison for aggravated rape, 20 years for aggravated kidnapping and another 20 years for being a felon in possession of a weapon. The sentences will run consecutively, or one after the other, Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Lee Coffee ruled.

Abston, 40, was convicted April 12 of raping a woman while holding her at gunpoint in September 2021. The victim said she had been raped after meeting Abston on a social dating site and agreeing to meet him at his apartment. A jury found Abston covered the woman's face with a T-shirt, walked her outside the apartment and raped her in the backseat of his girlfriend’s vehicle.

Coffee said Abston treated the victim with “exceptional cruelty.”

Abston waived a sentencing hearing in which witnesses could have testified for or against him. His lawyer, Juni Ganguli, said waiving a sentencing hearing meant they were able to avoid a “circus” in court. Prosecutor Paul Hagerman said Abston received what is “effectively a life sentence.”

Ganguli said he plans to appeal the conviction and he will file a motion for a new trial.

“We had a strong defense,” Ganguli told reporters outside court Friday. “I do not believe for a second that he raped or kidnapped or had a gun, that he put a gun to that woman."
Abston was not charged in the 2021 rape case until after being charged with snatching Eliza Fletcher from a street while she was jogging before dawn near the University of Memphis on Sept. 2, 2022, and forcing her into an SUV. Her body was found days later near a vacant duplex.

Abston was not arrested on the rape charges before Fletcher’s killing because of a long delay in processing the sexual assault kit, authorities have said. He has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors say they will pursue the death penalty if Abston is convicted of first-degree murder in Fletcher's death. No trial date has been set in that case.

The killing of Fletcher, a 34-year-old kindergarten teacher and mother of two, shocked the Memphis community and led to a flood of support for her family. Runners in Memphis and several other cities held an early-morning running events in her honor a week after she was abducted. A second run honoring Fletcher was held last year.

Abston, who also has gone by the name Cleotha Henderson, was arrested after police detected his DNA on sandals found near the location where Fletcher was last seen, an arrest affidavit said. An autopsy report showed Fletcher died of a gunshot wound to the head. She also had injuries to her right leg and jaw fractures.

After Fletcher’s death, the Legislature passed a law requiring the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to issue a quarterly report on sexual assault kit testing times.

The rape victim in the 2021 case sued the city of Memphis on allegations that the Memphis Police Department did not properly investigate her case, but the lawsuit was dismissed by a judge.

https://fox17.com/news/local/memphis-man-gets-80-years-in-prison-for-raping-a-woman-a-year-before-joggers-killing-cleotha-abston-eliza-fletcher-jogging-rape-kidnapping

Why is this animal allowed to live? Just kill it and burn it.

https://www.commercialappeal.com/gcdn/authoring/authoring-images/2023/10/12/PMCA/71154654007-2-mg-5276.jpg?width=660&height=456&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp
Cleotha Abston-Henderson can be seen at court listening to the judge’s response to his team requesting to have a Nashville jury instead of a Memphis jury on Thursday, October 12, 2023 at the Shelby County Justice Criminal Justice Center in Memphis, Tenn.

After about seven hours of deliberation over the course of two days, a Shelby County jury on Friday delivered a guilty verdict against Cleotha Abston in an alleged 2021 rape.

The trial spanned three days, with jury selection on Monday and arguments going from Tuesday to Thursday afternoon. The jury, during that time, was sequestered.

Abston is also accused of kidnapping and killing Memphis school teacher Eliza Fletcher two years ago. That case is expected to go to trial later this year.

There was not much physical evidence presented during the rape trial, and no witnesses to the alleged incident were called to testify aside from the woman alleging the rape.

"We are extremely satisfied by the verdict," Shelby County Deputy District Attorney Paul Hagerman told media outside the courtroom after Friday's verdict. "We fought long and hard this week. Y'all saw it, but it took a lot of courage throughout this thing, and took a lot of courage this week for Alicia [Franklin] to come into the courtroom and tell her truth, show so much bravery, face all those questions and accusations and everything else. But the jury, in the end, saw the truth and did what was right."

The jury began deliberating just after 1 p.m. Thursday, and did not return a verdict until after 11 a.m. Friday. The jury did, however, pop into the courtroom just before 3 p.m. Thursday to view body camera footage from interviews during that were shown earlier in the trial.

Abston was indicted in the Franklin case for three different counts — aggravated rape, especially aggravated kidnapping and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. The jury found him guilty of aggravated rape and convicted felon in possession of a handgun, and guilty of the lesser charge of aggravated kidnapping.

Hagerman, who prosecuted the case, during the trial attempted to appeal to the jury's sentiment toward the victim, pointing to aspects of her tale that were not flattering to herself as a reason for believing her testimony, while Abston's defense attorney, Juni Ganguli, attempted to portray the incident as attempted prostitution.

According to Ganguli, Alicia Franklin, the woman who pursued rape charges against Abston, met him on a dating app and had intended to charge Abston money for "her time," which Franklin later said included sex. Ganguli went on to say that, after Abston refused to pay Franklin as much as she wanted, she reported the incident as a rape.

Ganguli pointed to a lack of physical injuries on Franklin as indicative of sex between Franklin and Abston being consensual.

Both the prosecution and defense agreed that money was intended to be exchanged for sex, but Hagerman, and Franklin herself, alleged that the rape happened at gunpoint — with Franklin saying she felt the gun barrel "on her back" the whole time it happened.

What did Alicia Franklin say happened?
Franklin, who testified Tuesday afternoon, told the court that she was expecting $200, but never discussed payment with Abston. She said she had planned to talk to him about it when they met up, but he immediately pulled a gun on her.

The two met on a dating app called Plenty of Fish, and planned to go to dinner at Olive Garden before going back to Abston's apartment to "chill," Franklin said. Abston had told Franklin to come to his apartment and wait for him to shower and get ready to go out. When Franklin arrived, she said the apartment appeared vacant, with no furniture, and Abston immediately put a gun to her throat.

"She has to make split-second decisions as to if she lives or dies," Hagerman said during his opening statement. "He throws her in the back seat of a white Dodge Charger. He says he's going to kill her. She pleads with him, she begs him to stop. But she lets him rape her to survive."

'A scandal of epic proportions':Appeal heard in lawsuit over 12K untested Memphis rape kits

Evidence from the Fletcher abduction and murder case was displayed in court Tuesday morning as well. A FBI agent, whom the court ordered not be named or photographed due to the agent's work as an undercover operative, recalled arresting Abston after surveilling the apartment complex in the Fletcher case.

A Memphis Police Department officer later confirmed a pistol — a CZ 9 millimeter — was found in Abston's car at the time he was arrested. Franklin said that pistol seemed "like the same one" used during the alleged rape.

In the months since Abston was charged, Franklin has received criminal harassment and assault charges of her own. In court Tuesday, she said she was not offered a deal in that case to testify against Abston.

Wednesday's arguments featured testimony from Gwendolyn Brown, Abston's then-girlfriend, along with testimony from two police officers, an MPD lieutenant, a former nurse practitioner with the Rape Crisis Center and a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation DNA specialist.

Much of Brown's testimony centered on the use of the car, and Abston's disappearance. Brown also told the court that she did not know if Abston owned a gun, saying that, if he had one, "he hid it from us."

Abston lived in an apartment with Brown, and her three children, until his arrest in September 2022, which was connected to the Fletcher case and not Franklin's. According to Brown's testimony, the vacant apartment where the rape took place was next door to the apartment they lived in. At the time of the alleged rape, Brown said her kids were at home, "likely in their rooms."

This was a point of emphasis for Ganguli, who asked if the apartment complex had "thin walls." Brown said they did, and that her apartment shared a wall with the vacant one. Brown said her children did not say they heard "screaming or someone getting thrown around" after the incident was alleged to have taken place.

MPD sex crimes investigator testifies
Testimony from the sex crimes investigator, MPD Lt. Shameka Love, included clips of her body camera from interviewing Franklin at the Rape Crisis Center and a brief investigation of the vacant apartment complex. When investigators got to that apartment, they did not appear to find any physical evidence, with Love specifically saying she was looking for the shirt used to allegedly cover Franklin's face.

Ganguli focused his questioning of Love on why she did not keep Franklin's cell phone in evidence, or take pictures of text messages between Franklin and Abston at the very least. Love said she gave Franklin her phone since she said she needed it for work and her personal life.

"She was a victim," Love said. "She is not required to give us her phone like a suspect is. I didn't want to re-victimize her."

At one point, Ganguli asked Love if she could have taken pictures of the texts. Love said, "yes," but she did not take pictures of the messages. At one point during the Rape Crisis Center interview with Franklin, Love appears to hold the phone up to the body camera in an attempt to document some of the texts, but the image was not clear.

Franklin did give Love a working phone number for Abston, and Love made several attempts to speak with him. She said she was only able to get Abston — or someone answering Abston's phone — on the phone once, and she said he told her, "You don't got nothing on me," and hung up the phone.

Ganguli later asked Love why she did not document that conversation in a report. Love responded by saying she was "not sure" why she would not document that in supplemental reports because that call "was important" to the investigation and the case.

What was the physical, DNA evidence in the case?
Diary Prater, a retired forensic nurse practitioner, also testified as an expert about the rape kit that was taken from Franklin the night she said she was raped. Prater, who worked for 14 years with the Rape Crisis Center and said she had conducted over 200 exams, was the person who did Franklin's exam.

In her report, Prater noted that there did not appear to be any physical injuries to Franklin — no bruising, scratches, abrasions, cuts, redness or apparent damage to her genitals — but added that most rape victims, in her experience, do not have physical injuries.

More:Lawyer for Cleotha Abston, charged in Eliza Fletcher case, wants Nashville jurors

TBI Special Agent Christie Smith also testified as a DNA expert. Smith was the person to process Franklin's rape kit at the TBI crime lab in Jackson and said that there was a "very high" probability that the DNA came from Abston, saying the semen sample was "consistent" with his DNA that was obtained after his arrest.

During closing arguments, Ganguli told the jury this case was "not a case about rape or kidnapping," but that it was about "prostitution, it's about prices and it's about lies."

"Rape is a crime of opportunity," Ganguli said during Thursday's closing arguments. "Who would leave a trail of communication on an app before committing a rape? You wouldn't want to give your cell phone number or your address."

Why is this animal still alive? Kill it and burn it.

https://media.tegna-media.com/assets/WATN/images/abc194ef-ba12-4028-bd1a-292b95767b9e/abc194ef-ba12-4028-bd1a-292b95767b9e_1920x1080.jpg
Credit: Shelby County Sheriff's Office
Donyel Thomas

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis man has been convicted in a 2011 rape, and remains indicted in three more cases.

37-year-old Donyel Thomas was convicted Wednesday of raping the woman in Whitehaven July 17, 2011.

Prosecutors said the victim was walking back to her hotel after going to a party, and Thomas pulled over at Brooks Road and Millbranch, offering her a ride to the hotel. They said she accepted, but Thomas drove to a nearby park, threatened the woman with a knife, and then raped her. She said he drove off, taking her cell phone with them.

Prosecutors said a DNA sample from the rape kit was entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) in 2015, and a match came back linking Thomas to that rape, as well as four others.

Thomas was indicted in three of those cases, and they are still pending.

He will be sentenced in the 2011 case on November 8, 2021.

https://www.localmemphis.com/article/news/crime/memphis-man-convicted-in-2011-rape-also-indicted-in-three-more-cases/522-388b24e5-c8ab-40b0-b78f-b37fd9f8897d

https://www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/20140223__p_2c5af161-dd48-4d51-8e2c-9b0b36c7ce44lsoriginalph.jpg?w=640
Meaghan Ybos discusses Memphis’ backlog of untested rape kits on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014 in Memphis, Tenn. Ybos, a victim of rape, has been crusading for legislation to address the backlogs for several years.

With possibly hundreds of thousands of rape kits untested across the country, a number of states are proposing legislation to address backlogs that in at least one case dates back nearly three decades.

In Memphis, Tenn., alone, there are more than 12,000 untested rape kits going back to the 1980s, according to the New York-based Rape Kit Action Project, which has been tracking the backlogs nationwide. In the entire state of Texas, there are about 16,000 untested kits collecting dust in police evidence rooms.

Tennessee is among at least 17 states with proposals that range from requiring law enforcement agencies to inventory their rape kits to analyzing them in a certain amount of time. Three states — Colorado, Illinois and Texas — have passed laws that mandate a statewide accounting of untested rape kits.

Most of the other states’ proposals favor the inventory measure that would require all law enforcement agencies that store rape kits to count the number of untested kits. Rape Project spokeswoman Natasha Alexenko estimates there are about 400,000 nationwide that fall into that category.

“Until we enact this kind of legislation where we’re counting them, we really have no idea,” said Alexenko, a rape victim whose rape kit was finally tested after nearly 10 years, and her attacker arrested after a match was found.

Rape victim Meaghan Ybos of Memphis has been crusading for legislation to address the backlogs for several years. The 27-year-old was 16 when she was sexually assaulted in her suburban home in 2003. She underwent a forensic rape exam, but never heard anything else about her kit.

In 2012, she was watching the local news and learned police had arrested a suspected serial rapist in the same neighborhood where she lived.

“I just knew it was the same person,” recalled Ybos, who called police, told them about her assault and persuaded them to reopen her case. Her rape kit was eventually examined and the suspect’s DNA and that in her kit matched. The suspect pleaded guilty in her case and is currently incarcerated.

But Ybos, who is also supporting a proposal to lift Tennessee’s eight-year statute of limitation on rapes, said it shouldn’t have taken her that long to get justice.

“They never tried to process it until I called … and asked them,” Ybos said of her rape kit.

A spokeswoman for the Memphis Police Department recently told The Associated Press that she couldn’t comment about the backlog because the department is in the middle of litigation concerning a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of women whose rape kits haven’t been tested.

But when asked about the situation at an event earlier this month, Memphis Mayor A C Wharton didn’t mince words.

“We had a systemic failure here,” he said of the backlog.

Last year, Congress officially recognized the backlog of untested rape kits as a national problem in passing the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Registry Act, or SAFER, which seeks to provide data on the number of unsolved rape cases awaiting testing and establish better standards for the tracking, storage and use of DNA evidence in sexual assault cases.

The federal government is also providing funding to help cover the costs for testing the kits, which usually contain swabs, evidence envelopes and information sheets detailing the examination. They cost at least $500 to test, a process that involves several steps, including determining whether there’s sufficient material from which a subsequent DNA test may derive a reliable sample.

In 2003, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation received a grant for more than $3 million to test rape kits. TBI spokeswoman Illana Tate said the agency solicited kits from all law enforcement agencies in Tennessee, but she doesn’t know exactly how many were submitted.

Wharton has asked the Memphis City Council for a million dollars to help with the backlog. He said a little over 2,000 of the kits have been sent to laboratories, and that it could take up to five years for all the kits to be tested.

Memphis, like other cities, is operating on a tight budget. Its police and fire officials haven’t been able to get new training classes due to the city’s strapped finances. But Wharton said he’s determined to get the money needed to address the city’s backlog, even if it means reaching out to philanthropic groups for donations.

“Every day that a sexual assault kit sits untested represents justice delayed,” he said.

Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, a Collierville Republican and chairman of the Council of State Governments, is the sponsor of the inventory measure in Tennessee. He believes there are other municipalities within the state experiencing backlogs.

“We’ve got to quantify the magnitude of this problem,” Norris said. “We know that Memphis has somewhere in excess of 12,000 untested forensic evidence kits, but we need to know how many other local law enforcement authorities may have similar backlogs.”

Another Tennessee proposal would require law enforcement agencies to submit rape kits to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation within 10 days of receipt and that they be analyzed within six months. However, that measure could be costly and is unlikely to pass.

“If the proposal is passed where TBI has to return kits in six months, we would need to double our manpower and require new buildings to accommodate new hires and equipment,” Tate said.

Rep. Antonio Parkinson, a co-sponsor of the TBI proposal, said some type of legislation needs to be passed to address the backlogs because besides rape victims there are individuals who have been falsely accused of rape and need the kits tested to be exonerated.

“They could have been incarcerated while waiting for the evidence to clear them, or maybe they pled down to a lesser charge just to get out of jail,” said the Memphis Democrat.

Alexenko said the inventory proposal is more likely to pass in Tennessee and other states because it “creates a dialogue” between law enforcement agencies and city officials to begin to try to address the problem.

“Each rape kit represents a human being whose body was a crime scene,” she said.

Natasha’s Justice Project: http://natashasjusticeproject.org

Joyful Heart Foundation: http://www.joyfulheartfoundation.org

Associated Press writer Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tenn., contributed to this report.

https://www.denverpost.com/2014/02/23/how-states-are-seeking-to-tackle-backlogs-of-untested-rape-kits/

https://dims.apnews.com/dims4/default/4f0d70d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3478x2317+0+1/resize/980x653!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2Fd8%2F15%2Fcabf8bf461f862fcc3e6c94174a0%2F7d0538b08c8c4394bd77de81277b01bb
FILE - Cleotha Abston sits during a court appearance at the Shelby County Criminal Court, July 6, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn. A jury in Memphis convicted Abston, Friday, April 12, 2024, of kidnapping and raping the woman in September 2021.(Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal via AP, File)/The Commercial Appeal via AP)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee man has been found guilty of raping a woman a year before he was charged with kidnapping and killing a school teacher who was on an early morning run.

A jury in Memphis convicted 40-year-old Cleotha Abston of kidnapping and raping the woman in September 2021.

According to The Daily Memphian, the jury’s Friday decision found Abston guilty on three counts of aggravated rape, especially aggravated kidnapping and unlawful possession of a weapon. Jurors had heard testimony from witnesses Tuesday and Wednesday, and then closing arguments on Thursday.

The Memphis news outlet reports that the victim reported she had been raped on Sept. 21, 2021, after meeting Abston on a social dating site and agreeing to meet him at his apartment.

Abston allegedly held her at gunpoint, covered her face with a T-shirt, walked her outside the apartment and raped her in the backseat of his girlfriend’s vehicle.

“I didn’t want to die,” she testified Tuesday, explaining why she complied.

Abston was not charged in the 2021 rape case until after being charged with snatching Eliza Fletcher from a street near the University of Memphis on Sept. 2, 2022, and forcing her into an SUV. Her body was found days later near a vacant duplex.

Abston was not arrested on the rape charges before Fletcher’s killing because of a long delay in processing the sexual assault kit, authorities have said. He has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors say they will pursue the death penalty if Abston is convicted of first-degree murder in Fletcher’s death, but no trial date has been set in that case.

The killing of Fletcher, a 34-year-old kindergarten teacher and mother of two, shocked the Memphis community and led to a flood of support for her family. Runners in Memphis and several other cities held an early-morning running events in her honor a week after she was abducted. A second run honoring Fletcher was held last year.

Abston was arrested after police detected his DNA on sandals found near the location where Fletcher was last seen, an arrest affidavit said. An autopsy report showed Fletcher died of a gunshot wound to the head. She also had injuries to her right leg and jaw fractures.

After Fletcher’s death, the Legislature passed a law requiring the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to issue a quarterly report on sexual assault kit testing times.

Abston’s lawyer, Juni Ganguli, had filed a change of venue motion seeking to have jurors from the Nashville area hear the rape case, but a judge denied the request. Ganguli had said that heavy media coverage and social media commentary threatened Abston’s ability to receive a fair trial if Memphis-area jurors are used.

Ganguli had said social media comments about news stories in the Fletcher case have been overwhelmingly negative and toxic.

The rape victim in the 2021 case has since sued the city of Memphis on allegations that the Memphis Police Department did not properly investigate her case, but the lawsuit was dismissed by a judge.

https://apnews.com/article/tennessee-memphis-jogger-killed-rape-trial-dna-1e7c7e3cacfbd7532ea619ef4fe59a7e

Leroy N. Soetoro <soetoro@excite.com> wrote:
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6_DLzLGlfI
>>
>> We the People are sick of the tyrannical dictator Demonrats.
>>
>>
>
> You want a dictatorship. Soon it will be time to cull anti American filth
> like you. Your traitorous cult must cease to exist. Trump will be in
> prison and you will be too, if you're not dead first. Then on to killing
> Putin. A dead enemy is a good enemy.
>
>

How would you do that? The constitution stands in the way of anyone who
would try it.

--
"Do not come; do not come"
"I'm gonna come!"
https://youtube.com/shorts/oC8wQAscVKY?si=EUAnZarWPttn7XSd