REPORT: Eliza Fletcher murder suspect previous victim worked at same law firm as heiress's UNCLE

Prior to allegedly kidnapping and murdering Memphis heiress Eliza Fletcher, Cleotha Abston spent twenty years in jail for abducting Kemper Durand.

It has since been revealed that Durand, a former attorney, had worked at Lewis Thomason, the same firm as Fletcher's uncle, Michael Keeney.

The revelations were brought to light by former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer in an interview with NewsNation on Monday, according to the Daily Mail.

"I think this is a very significant clue," Coffindaffer said, "and I'm sure, certainly that the FBI, that the US Marshals, and that the TBI is looking closely at this relationship."

She suggested it could help explain why Abston allegedly chose to kidnap Fletcher.

"Did the system fail Eliza Fletcher here?" the host asked, pointing out that Abston had been let out of jail in 2020 with two years left in his sentence.

"Any time someone is let out early and then goes on to commit another violent crime, yes, I think society is let down, I think we are all let down by his early release."

In the hours following the interview, Fletcher's body was discovered near where Abston had been spotted washing the car used in the alleged kidnapping.

The suspect was subsequently charged with first degree murder, and first degree murder in perpetration of a kidnapping.

Abston's previous victim, Durand, survived the abduction thanks to the assistance of a housing authority officer, however he passed away in 2013.

Durand feared for his life during the incident, wherein he was forced into the trunk of his own car and driven around for hours.

"It is quite likely that I would have been killed had I not escaped," he wrote in his victim impact statement.

Law enforcement has not publicly commented on the aforementioned ties between Abston and Fletcher's family.