Senators point to Memphis violence as need to end … MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn says progressive policies that appear to support criminals are putting innocent Americans at risk, and Wednesday introduced the ‘Restoring Law and Order Act’. Blackburn and Senator Bill Hagerty both sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to take swift action to eliminate “soft-on-crime” policies and […]
Rape kit backlog puts TBI funding in spotlight MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Following the death of Eliza Fletcher, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation revealed that it takes nearly a year for its lab technicians to analyze some rape kits. Now some Shelby County commissioners want the state to do more to speed up that timeline. During Wednesday’s committee meetings, commissioners are set to consider […]
Gov. Lee spells out $55 billion budget, plans for … MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Tennessee Governor Bill Lee delivered an optimistic view of the Volunteer state and spelled out his $55 billion budget plans for this fiscal year during Monday night’s State of the State address. Gov. Lee called for investing in roads, education, aid to parents and children, and cutting taxes during his State of […]
Evidence in Cleotha Abston’s 2021 rape case sat in … MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG)– State forensic scientists linked Eliza Fletcher’s accused kidnapper and killer Cleotha Abston-Henderson to a rape that happened in September 2021. What’s even worse is critical evidence in that 2021 case had just been sitting in storage at a state lab for months. The state made the unnerving discovery on September 5, the […]
Rape victim’s evidence wasn’t tested until after … WARNING: Some of the details in this story could be triggering to rape survivors. MEMPHIS, Tenn. — He was a rapist who targeted women and children in Memphis. Why will he soon walk free after police connected him to more violent attacks? “[Police] didn’t care when they were there that night. It just took me […]
Rape victim’s evidence wasn’t tested until after … He was a rapist who targeted women and children in Memphis. Why will he soon walk free after police connected him to more violent attacks?
North Carolina AG in legal bind amid probe over 2020 … RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The campaign committee for North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, facing trouble for a TV ad aired against a rival in 2020, plans to ask a federal court to block enforcement of a state law making it illegal to knowingly circulate false reports to damage a candidate’s election chances. The notice […]
TBI says it needs more resources to quickly process … MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The state crime lab asked for 40 personnel at its crime labs to help process crucial evidence faster, but only got funding for half of that. For years, WREG Investigators have been reporting on issues at the state crime lab in Jackson, where Memphis Police sends its biological evidence to be analyzed […]
Abston ID’ed as suspect in 2021 rape days after Fletcher’s … MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A recently tested rape kit from a case back on September 21 of 2021 has been connected to the man charged with kidnapping and killing Eliza Fletcher. The DNA match came back the same day Fletcher’s body was found behind an abandoned house in South Memphis. According to Memphis police, a sexual […]
DA says libel case against N. Carolina Attorney General … RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina prosecutor said Thursday that campaign-related charges won’t be pursued further against Attorney General Josh Stein or his aides, one day after an appeals court ruled the political libel law her office was seeking to enforce is most likely unconstitutional. Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said that the […]
How does MPD decide when to rush rape kit testing? MEMPHIS Tenn. — Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis said she’d like to speed up testing for every rape kit that gets processed, just like police did for Eliza Fletcher, but acknowledges the decision isn’t hers alone. “I’d like to put a rush on all on cases,” Davis said. Cleotha Abston-Henderson, accused of kidnapping and killing […]