Cleotha Henderson biography: 16 things about Memphis, Tennessee man

Who is Cleotha Henderson?

Cleotha Abston Henderson is an American man from Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, United States. He is 2 years older than his brother Mario Henderson, a Longview Gardens, Memphis resident and an aspiring rapper also known as Yola Bizza.

Also known as Pookie Abston and Cleo Real, Cleotha was 4 years older than his fellow Memphis resident Eliza Wellford Fletcher, granddaughter of Joseph “Joe” Orgill III, a billionaire who died in March 2018. Her uncle Michael Keeney works for the same law firm that employed the late lawyer Kemper Durand.

When Cleotha was a juvenile, he had a long record of theft and aggravated assault. Here are 16 more things about him:

1. He was born in 1984.
2. At around 2:00 a.m. on May 25, 2000, he robbed Durand, then 60, in Memphis, forced him into the trunk of his 1992 Mercedes-Benz, drove him around for several hours, forced him into an automated teller machine and demanded the lawyer draw out cash with the help of Marquette Cobbins, then 17, and another boy, then 12.
3. In June 2000, he was charged with especially aggravated kidnapping.
4. On October 1, 2001, he pleaded guilty to aggravated kidnapping and received 24 years in prison, starting in November 2001. He was eligible for release after 85% of the sentence.
5. On October 20, 2019, he wrote on Facebook, “The biggest lesson I’ve learned this year is to not force anything, conversation, friendships, relationships, attention, love, ANYTHING is forced is just not worth fighting for.”
6. On November 7, 2019, he wrote on Facebook, “I GOT 364 DAYS LEFT, I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS AFTER 20YEARS!!”
7. On November 7, 2020, he wrote on Facebook, “I just got out.”
8. On September 21, 2021, he allegedly raped Alicia Franklin when they met in person after meeting on an online dating site.
9. On September 1, 2022, he allegedly stole a woman’s wallet and used her CashApp and Wisely Card at gas stations without her knowledge or consent. A police report for him that day listed the address of Gwendolyn Brown, who has a black 2013 GMC Terrain sport utility vehicle registered to her name. She owns a cleaning service that employed him after his release from prison.
10. At around 4:30 a.m. on September 2, 2022, he allegedly approached Fletcher while she was jogging near the University of Memphis in Memphis and forced her into a black GMC Terrain. His Champion sandals were left in the crime scene.
11. At 10:45 a.m. on September 3, 2022, U.S. Marshals spotted him and took him into custody. He refused to tell Memphis Police Department officers the location of Fletcher’s body. He was charged with especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence and his bond was set at $500,000.
12. He was charged with identity theft, theft of property $1,000 or less and fraudulent use/illegal possession of credit/debit cards on September 5, 2022, the same day Fletcher was found dead in Memphis.
13. On October 12, 2023, he and his attorney Juni Gangul appeared in a Shelby County courtroom to ask Judge Lee Coffee to rule on a motion to allow jurors from Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee instead of Bluff City, Sullivan County, Tennessee to decide his fate in his aggravated rape and kidnapping case.
14. On April 12, 2024, for the rape and kidnapping of Franklin, he was found guilty of aggravated rape, especially aggravated kidnapping and being convicted felon in possession of a gun for the rape.
15. On May 17, 2024, a Shelby County judge sentenced him to 80 years for kidnapping and raping Franklin.
16. On October 28, 2024, for the murder of Fletcher, he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and especially aggravated kidnapping.