Family, friends and mourners have gathered to honor Eliza Fletcher's legacy.
Nearly a week after the kindergarten teacher, a married mother of two, was found deceased after being kidnapped while out running, Fletcher was laid to rest in a funeral service at Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tennessee on Sept. 10. Tragically, the venue is the same location where she married Richard Fletcher III in 2014. According to Memphis Magazine, the church was also where the couple—who share two small children—first met.
About 300 people, including Fletcher's parents and husband, attended the service, which was live-streamed on the church's YouTube page, Fox News reported. The service included hymns performed by the Second Presbyterian Church's choir, including "This Little Light of Mine," while Fletcher was shown in a video singing the track to her kindergarten students during the COVID-19 pandemic, the outlet said.
Fletcher's funeral service comes one day after hundreds of supporters jogged through Memphis streets as part of a run to honor the late mom of two.
According to Memphis police, security video showed Fletcher out jogging on Sept. 2 when a person approached the 34-year-old and forced her into a black GMC Terrain.
Two days after her kidnapping, authorities announced that Cleotha Henderson, 38, was charged with kidnapping and tampering with evidence in connection with her disappearance. After Fletcher was found dead on Sept. 5, additional charges of first-degree murder and first-degree murder in the perpetration of kidnapping were added.
After news broke of the tragic discovery, Fletcher's family shared a statement about experiencing heartbreak amid "this senseless loss."
"Liza was such a joy to so many—her family, friends, colleagues, students, parents, members of her Second Presbyterian Church congregation, and everyone who knew her," the Sept. 6 statement read. "Now it's time to remember and celebrate how special she was and to support those who cared so much for her."
Her cause of death has not been released at this time.