Eliza Fletcher, a kindergarten teacher and well-known billionaire heiress, was found dead on September 5 after getting kidnapped last week while out for a jog.
She was 34 years old.
The Memphis Police Department confirmed the awful news via Twitter on September 6.
Fletcher was abducted on September 2.
Local police said at the time that security video showed that an individual approached the mother of two and forced her into a black GMC Terrain.
No cause of death has been determined.
Two days after her kidnapping, however, authorities announced that Cleotha Abston has been charged with kidnapping and tampering with evidence in connection with her disappearance.
After cops made the tragic discovery, additional charges of first-degree murder and first-degree murder in the perpetration of kidnapping were added.
In the wake of the heart-shattering development, Fletcher’s family released a statement, sharing how they’re “heartbroken and devastated by this senseless loss” and adding:
“Liza was such a joy to so many—her family, friends, colleagues, students, parents, members of her Second Presbyterian Church congregation, and everyone who knew her.
“Now it’s time to remember and celebrate how special she was and to support those who cared so much for her.”
The 34-year-old was the granddaughter of the late Joseph Orgill III.
Prior to his passing in 2018 at the age of 80, Orgill was a billionaire hardware magnate and philanthropist.
Currently, his company, Orgill Inc. — which supplies over 70,000 hardware and home improvement products to stores around the globe, according to Forbes — is now worth over $3 billion.
Fletcher married her husband in 2014 and worked as a junior kindergarten teacher at St. Mary’s Episcopal School in Memphis.
In their statement, her loved ones thanked the community for their “expressions of love and concern” amid this difficult time and continued:
“We are grateful beyond measure to local, state and federal law enforcement for their tireless efforts to find Liza and to bring justice to the person responsible for this horrible crime.”
Following Eliza’s murder, her school posted a few words in her honor, Tweeting on Monday:
“This morning our faculty and staff started the day in chapel. We lit candles to remember Liza who was a bright light in our community.
“Liza embodied the song that we sing every week in Early Childhood chapel, ‘This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.'”
During an arraignment September 6, Abston told the judge that he could not afford a lawyer and was appointed a public defender.
A judge has set his bond for $510,000 and he is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 7 to be arraigned on the murder charges.
May Eliza Fletcher rest in peace.