Montesi then adjourned the hearing and said it would resume Thursday, when the judge said he would hear a defense motion regarding Henderson’s representation. Montesi did not elaborate on the move. After Wednesday’s proceeding, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy declined a reporter’s question about what punishment would follow if Henderson is convicted. A conviction for first degree murder carries sentences of life in prison with or without parole or the death penalty. “It is premature for us to discuss at this time what punishment we will seek,” Mulroy said outside the courtroom. Fletcher’s disappearance sparked an intense manhunt — fueled by surveillance video that police said showed her being forced into an SUV early Friday while she was jogging — that led to Henderson’s arrest near his Memphis home in Saturday. Fletcher’s body was found near a vacant maisonette on Monday and publicly identified on Tuesday, authorities said. The teacher’s death, which authorities say was violent, has reverberated through the Tennessee town and questions remain about where and how she was killed — and why. But investigators “have no reason to believe this was anything other than an isolated attack by an unknown person,” Mulroy told reporters Tuesday. As the investigation unfolds, the Fletcher community mourns the preschool teacher and mother of two. She was “a joy to all who knew her,” her family said in a statement obtained by CNN affiliate WHBQ. “We are heartbroken and heartbroken by this senseless loss. Lisa was such a joy to so many — her family, friends, colleagues, students, parents, Second Presbyterian Church members and all who knew her. “, the statement said. reads. “Now is a time to remember and celebrate how special she was and to support those who cared so much about her. We appreciate all the expressions of love and concern we have received. We are grateful beyond measure to the local, state and federal law enforcement authorities of of the law for their tireless efforts to find Lisa and bring justice to the person responsible for this horrific crime,” Fletcher’s family said. At the Episcopal School of St. Mary’s faculty and staff began their day in the chapel and lit candles in Fletcher’s memory, the school said Tuesday in a Facebook post. “We are devastated at the loss of our beloved teacher, colleague and friend Lisa Fletcher,” St. Mary’s Episcopal School said. Fletcher was the granddaughter of hardware magnate Joseph Orgill III, who died in 2018 at the age of 80. Tennessee-based Orgill has annual sales of $3 billion, according to the company. Henderson, 38, was indicted Tuesday on the original charges — aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence — and at the time a public defender was appointed to represent him.
How the four-day search for the victim developed
Fletcher was jogging in a neighborhood near the University of Memphis around 4 a.m. Friday. Her husband told police Friday morning that she would not be returning, authorities said in an affidavit, which was originally filed Sunday and amended Tuesday. Someone found her phone on a street that morning and it was given to one of Fletcher’s relatives, who turned it over to investigators, the affidavit states. Police then found surveillance video of that area, which shows a black GMC Terrain driving past her, according to the affidavit. The video shows a man getting out of the SUV and “aggressively” running toward her before forcing her into the passenger seat of the vehicle, according to the affidavit. The SUV remained in a parking lot for about four minutes after both people were inside and then drove away, the affidavit states. Police also analyzed a pair of sandals found at the scene of the abduction, near the victim’s phone. DNA found on the shoes matched Henderson’s DNA, the affidavit states. Investigators interviewed Henderson’s employer, who said he drove a GMC Terrain and verified his phone number. Investigators checked Henderson’s cellphone records, which showed he was near the scene of the abduction during Fletcher’s abduction, according to the affidavit. Members of a US Marshals task force found a GMC Terrain near Henderson’s home Saturday morning — and it had the same visible damage seen on surveillance video, and the license plate matched partial license plate information obtained from the video, reports sworn statement. The task force arrested Henderson near his home on Saturday, the court document said. Police gathered evidence from two witnesses — including Henderson’s brother — who say they saw him acting strangely at his brother’s home in Memphis after the abduction, according to the affidavit. Both said Henderson cleaned the interior of the GMC Terrain with floor cleaner and washed his clothes in the home’s sink, according to the affidavit.
A body was found near an empty house. clothes found dumped nearby
On Monday, investigators, acting on a tip from an FBI team that analyzes cellphone data, found Fletcher’s body shortly after 5 p.m., according to the affidavit. Investigators, using cell phone data, had focused on an area near an intersection less than a mile from the brother’s home. The team smelled a putrid odor coming from an area near a vacant home, saw vehicle tracks in the grass near the road and eventually found a body on the property, according to the affidavit. “An investigation of the scene revealed that the woman matched the description of the missing person, Eliza Fletcher,” the affidavit states. That property was in the 1600 block of Victor Street, authorities said. That’s about a half-mile drive from the address authorities gave for his brother’s home, a 7.5-mile drive from the scene of the abduction and about a 15.5-mile drive from Henderson’s home. A little more than an hour after the body was found and about three-tenths of a mile away, a detective found a trash bag with purple jogging shorts — consistent with what Fletcher was wearing when she was abducted, the affidavit states.
The suspect served prison time in a previous kidnapping case
Court records also reveal Henderson previously served time in prison for aggravated kidnapping more than 20 years ago. In November 2001, Henderson pleaded guilty to the charge and was released in November 2020, court records show. Henderson had been convicted of kidnapping a lawyer in 2000, the Shelby County District Attorney’s office told local network WREG. This month, Henderson also faces charges unrelated to the Fletcher case, including identity theft, theft of property $1,000 or less and fraudulent use/illegal possession of a credit or debit card $1,000 or less, Shelby County jail records show . Those charges are connected to a theft report filed last week by a woman who reported someone was using her Cash App card and Wisely Card at gas stations without her knowledge. CNN has reached out to the Shelby County District Attorney and Memphis police about the theft allegations. CNN’s Melissa Alonso, Anne Clifford, Jamiel Lynch, Chuck Johnston, Tina Burnside, Hannah Sarisohn and Jennifer Feldman contributed to this report.
