This wasn’t the 40-year-old’s only run-in with the law. Abston, who previously served 20 years in prison for the 2000 kidnapping of a Memphis attorney, was sentenced to 80 years this year in a separate 2021 rape case, NBC News confirmed.
As the family continues to mourn their loss, they also reflect on the person Fletcher was.
“We miss the bright light of Liza’s life every day,” the family said after the guilty plea in a statement obtained by NBC affiliate WSMV. “Liza meant so much to so many, and her smile radiated happiness, energy, and comfort. Her husband, her children, her parents, her brother, the rest of her family, her friends, her students, her school families, her fellow teachers, her church community, and so many others were moved by countless examples of her faith, kindness, and compassion.”
(E! News and NBC News are part of the NBCUniversal family.)
