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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Problems with rape kit evidence testing keep haunting Memphis. A city long plagued by a heavy backlog of untested sexual assault kits was shaken by Cleotha Henderson’s arrest in the killing of Eliza Fletcher after she was abducted during a morning jog last month. So when authorities said his DNA was […]

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. — The governor’s office has announced that more forensic positions will be added to the lab that tests rape kits for the Memphis area to help accelerate the process. The governor’s office says the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Jackson lab will have eight more forensics positions, including scientists, technicians, and administrative support. The […]

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — When Texas’ new abortion law made no exceptions in cases of rape, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott defended it with an assurance: Texas would get to work eliminating rapes. One year later, Lindsey LeBlanc is busy as ever helping rape victims in a college town outside Houston. “The numbers have stayed consistently […]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Another alleged victim of Cleotha Abston-Henderson is speaking out about what happened to her, and how the murder of Eliza Fletcher might’ve been prevented. Alicia Franklin blames Memphis Police for not following up on her 2021 rape case and, as we first told you Monday, is suing the department. WREG doesn’t normally […]

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 38-year-old man is accused of fondling and attempting to rape his mentally disabled teenage relative in a South Memphis home. Charles Munford is charged with attempted rape and aggravated sexual battery. He is in jail on $20,000 bond with a court date set for Monday. On Sunday, a woman told police […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]