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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG)– The Memphis Police Department could be the target of a new lawsuit related to Cleotha Abston-Henderson, the suspect in the Eliza Fletcher murder case. The woman filing the lawsuit says she tried to warn police about Abston-Henderson, but they didn’t follow through. According to the victim, the rape happened at the Lakes […]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Circuit Court judge held a hearing Thursday on whether the city of Memphis can be held liable for a backlog of rape evidence kits. This is lawsuit was brought on behalf of Janet Doe against the city of Memphis. A class-action lawsuit was brought by rape victims who claim the city […]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The decision of if a lawsuit filed by a woman who says she was raped by Cleotha Abston-Henderson should be dismissed is now in the hands of a judge.  Attorneys for the city of Memphis and attorneys for a woman who says she was sexually assaulted by Cleotha Abston-Henderson, the same man […]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Thousands of rape victims will have to wait a little longer to find out if they can file a class action lawsuit against the City of Memphis. The City of Memphis has been at the center of litigation surrounding the mishandling of more than 12,000 rape kits from 1985 to 2014. Preliminary […]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The TBI is now reaching out for help as it tries to shrink a massive backlog of rape kits at its crime labs. The state is under pressure to act following the killing of Eliza Fletcher back in September. The man charged with her murder has a violent history and the TBI […]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Pertinent evidence in thousands of rape cases sat in storage for decades allowing violent criminals to walk free and strike again. Memphis police are still trying to find hundreds of suspects, but the city council stopped wanting to hear about their progress. Until last week. The Memphis Police Department gave the the […]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — While Tennessee’s governor says the state is going to get more staff at crime labs to help process rape kits, the impact won’t be immediate. Gov. Bill Lee announced Thursday 25 new positions at state crime labs to help process critical evidence faster. It’s something the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which analyzes all of […]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Thousands of victims are one step closer to a ruling in a lawsuit against the City of Memphis over untested rape kits. It’s a story WREG has been following for nearly a decade. Celia Reynolds is one of the thousands of rape victims who never got closure from Memphis Police or in […]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Crucial evidence is taking months to process and may be slowing down the judicial system and threatening public safety. The state of Tennessee is managing to move the backlog incrementally, and taking steps to speed things up.  Back in September, Eliza Fletcher had gone for a run when police say she was kidnapped […]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — Tennessee is outsourcing hundreds of untested DNA rape kits to a lab in Florida for testing as state investigators try to reduce turnaround times for the evidence. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Monday that it had flown 550 kits to DNA Labs International, based in Deerfield Beach, Florida after securing a […]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Lawyers for the City of Memphis want a judge to throw out a lawsuit filed by a woman who says police failed to properly investigate her rape, arguing that police have no duty under law to investigate. Alicia Franklin claims she was raped by Cleotha Abston-Henderson, but he wasn’t arrested because evidence […]