The man charged in the abduction and killing of Memphis jogger and teacher Eliza Fletcher was a suspect in a 2021 kidnapping and sexual assault, police said, but wasn’t indicted until Thursday because his DNA wasn’t tested until recently.

Cleotha Henderson, 38, was rebooked at the Shelby County Jail on Friday on charges of aggravated rape, especially aggravated kidnapping and unlawful carrying of a weapon.

The charges appeared in the Shelby County criminal justice portal Friday. The court records show the indictment was handed down Thursday.

In an email statement to the Commercial Appeal, a Memphis Police Department spokesperson confirmed the charges related to a sexual assault report from that date and said a sexual assault kit was sent to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation two days later.

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“An official CODIS (national DNA database) hit was not received until after the unfortunate event that occurred on September 2, 2022,” the statement read. “Probable cause to make a physical arrest of any suspect did not exist until after the CODIS hit had been received.”

MPD would not provide further details to the Commercial Appeal, citing “an ongoing criminal prosecution.”

Untested DNA

A TBI spokesperson confirmed the agency received the sexual assault…