Inside the disturbing aftermath of the Eliza Fletcher murder case

Durand, who died in 2013, wrote a letter to the judge suggesting probation for Cobbins, who Abston picked up after he stole Durand’s wallet and forced it into the trunk of his own car. The lawyer said that he felt that the older boy was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But when Abston filed for post-conviction relief two years later, Durand submitted a victim impact statement, noting the teenager had been charged with assault when he was 11 and saying he believed Abston was more likely everything, would have killed him if that officer had not appeared.

Why is the government criticized after the murder of Eliza Fletcher?

In response to criticism from some civil servants— including the state’s lieutenant governor — that Fletcher would be alive if Abston had been in prison and serving time, Mulroy, the district attorney, countered that the suspect had served 85 percent of his 24-year sentence. And, as he noted during a press conference on September 6, his office opposed parole.

“Repeat offenders deserve a strong response,” Mulroy said, “and that’s what they’re going to get from this district attorney’s office.”