女性外出跑步时所面临的危险再次成为人们关注的焦点伊莱扎·莱莎·弗莱彻之死，一名教师和两个孩子的母亲在晨跑时被绑架在她的家乡孟菲斯，警方说。
这位34岁的男子最后一次被看到是在当地时间周五早上4点20分左右，在孟菲斯大学校园附近慢跑。根据孟菲斯警察局的说法，一名男子靠近她，强迫她进入一个深色的GMC地形，然后离开。
谢尔比县治安官办公室周日公布的一份书面陈述显示，弗莱彻的丈夫理查德·弗莱彻(Richard Fletcher)在大约三个小时后报告她失踪，并告诉调查人员，她从未在早上4点跑步后回家。
周一下午，弗莱彻的遗体在南孟菲斯的一个住宅区被发现，该住宅区距离她被绑架的地方有几英里远，警察说。
弗莱彻绑架案的嫌疑人Cleotha Abston定于周三返回法庭，接受一级谋杀、预谋杀人和一级绑架等其他指控的传讯。他被关押在孟菲斯的谢尔比县监狱，保释金为50万美元。
谢尔比县地方检察官史蒂夫·马尔罗伊说，弗莱彻的家庭成员在整个磨难中一直与执法部门充分合作，并抨击说，否则“毫无根据的猜测”。
“我们没有理由认为这是陌生人的孤立袭击，”他说。
弗莱彻在外出跑步时的死亡很快引起了人们对至少六名女性的死亡的比较，这六名女性在最近几年也都是在她们的城市或社区街道上跑步时被杀的:悉尼·萨瑟兰25岁，在阿肯色州杰克逊县跑步失踪两天后，她的尸体被发现;莫莉·蒂贝茨她在爱荷华州的家附近跑步时被发现刺死;温迪·马丁内斯他在华盛顿特区一个繁忙、光线充足的地区慢跑时被刺死;维翠诺她被发现死于她纽约家附近的一次傍晚慢跑;凡妮莎·马科特她在马萨诸塞州光天化日之下慢跑时被杀害;还有艾丽·布鲁格，她在密歇根跑步时被人从背后射中。
2018年，另一名运动员，一名22岁的大学生高尔夫球员，被在她独自打高尔夫球时被杀在爱荷华州艾姆斯的一个球场上。
弗莱彻去世后，女性们在推特上使用#ElizaFletcher标签分享她们对户外运动时面临的危险的沮丧。
“我们生病了厌倦了仅仅因为我们呼吸就要提防男人。携带钥匙刺伤某人，携带泰瑟枪，电击枪，狼牙棒，熊喷雾，响亮的警报。懂得防身，成为持枪者，从不单独去任何地方。男人做得更好怎么样，”一位推特用户写道。
“女性跑步者在跑步前最担心两件事——她们是否会被绑架/袭击/谋杀，或者她们是否会被猫叫和被性化。男人们担心他们是应该在跑步之前还是之后便便。我们不一样，”另一位写道。弗莱彻是一名马拉松运动员，他以3:27:26的成绩完成了2019年孟菲斯圣裘德马拉松比赛，使她进入了24名女性选手的前24名。比赛结果显示。
弗莱彻的家人在一份声明中说，他们对弗莱彻的去世感到“心碎和崩溃”，他们形容弗莱彻是“许多人的欢乐”
“现在是时候记住和庆祝她是多么特别，并支持那些如此关心她的人，”声明中写道。“我们感谢收到的所有关爱和关心。我们非常感谢地方、州和联邦执法部门为找到丽莎并将这起可怕罪行的责任人绳之以法所做的不懈努力。”
其他女性跑步者在推特上分享说，弗莱彻不应该被指责为袭击事件，并指出女性无论何时何地跑步都应该是安全的。
“不管是什么时候，不管她是独自一人还是穿着什么。我们应该可以安全地在任何时间、任何地点、任何方式奔跑，”他写道推特上的一位评论者。
“我已经跑得很晚了。我曾在清晨时分跑步，那时天还没亮，世界还在沉睡。我在中午的时候跑过。如果你了解跑步者，这很正常。请不要告诉女人什么时候可以去跑步。另一位评论者写道。
“作为三个孩子的母亲，我理解她为什么会在早上430跑步。她很可能只为自己做了些事...比如跑步...当她的孩子睡着的时候，这样她就可以尽可能多的给他们时间，”另一个人写道。
自卫专家给女性的建议
A《跑步者世界》杂志2017年调查发现超过一半的跑步女性表示，她们担心在跑步过程中会受到身体攻击或不必要的身体接触。
除了面临的恐惧，女性还面临着来自社会的压力，要求她们做一些事情(“不要戴耳机!”“改变路线!”“千万不要夜跑!”)，好像犯罪者的行为是他们的错。
不可能防止每一次攻击，妇女不应该感到这样做的压力，詹妮弗·卡塞塔防身术专家，公共演说家和健康教练，在2018年告诉ABC新闻那一年，马丁内斯在华盛顿特区去世，蒂贝茨在爱荷华州去世。
卡塞塔认为，女性所能做的就是赋予自己权力，这样她们在外面的世界会感觉更强大、更自信。
“对我来说，教学就是在这些可怕的情况下给予尽可能多的选择，”卡塞塔说，她指出，即使是上一堂自卫课也能产生巨大的影响。“有太多女性反抗并逃脱的例子了。确实有效。不是所有时间，但它可以。”
以下是卡塞塔给女性的三大建议。
1.了解你身上的武器以及如何使用它们
卡塞塔建议，跑步或走路时，挺胸抬头，与路上的每个人进行眼神交流。
根据卡塞塔的说法，如果你受到攻击，蹲下或弓步会降低你的重心，使你更难摔倒在地。
为了反击，卡塞塔说要“获取并开火”
“眼睛、喉咙和腹股沟是最有效的目标，因为它们都是软目标，你可以用最少的努力造成最大的伤害，”她说。“抓伤或挖出眼睛，猛击喉咙以扰乱呼吸，用膝盖或手肘猛击腹股沟。”
2.注意你周围的环境
卡塞塔说，女性外出时应该“警惕但冷静”，寻找危险信号，不要陷入沉思。
“当我们保持警惕时，我们的直觉是我们内心的GPS，它给我们信号，给我们信息，”她说。“如果我们太专注于我们的待办事项或我们感到压力的事情，我们就听不到。”
谈到听力，卡塞塔还说，不要放弃耳机，但音量要足够低，这样你才能听到周围的声音。
此外，让其他人也知道你周围的环境。指定一个朋友或家庭成员作为你的“安全伙伴”，你发短信让他知道你何时何地跑步，何时返回。
3.武装自己
卡塞塔建议女性使用的“非致命武器”包括胡椒喷雾、个人报警器和作为珠宝佩戴的尖锐物品，她称之为“武器珠宝”
“它们让你变得更有意识，因为你抓住它并意识到它，”她说。“但你需要确保你知道如何使用它们。如果你有胡椒喷雾，确保你知道如何使用它，并且可以拿到它。”
Women speak out about safety while running after death of Memphis jogger
The dangers women face while simply going outside for a run are in the spotlight again after thedeath of Eliza "Liza" Fletcher, a teacher and mother of two who wasabducted while on an early morning runin her hometown of Memphis, police said.
The 34-year-old was last seen jogging near the University of Memphis campus on Friday morning around 4:20 a.m. local time. She was approached by a man and forced into a dark-colored GMC Terrain, which then took off, according to the Memphis Police Department.
Fletcher's husband, Richard Fletcher, reported her missing about three hours later, telling investigators that she never returned home from her regular 4 a.m. run, according to an affidavit of the complaint made public Sunday by the Shelby County Sheriff's Office.
Fletcher's remains were found on Monday afternoon in a South Memphis residential neighborhood several miles from where she was abducted,police said.
The suspect in Fletcher's kidnapping, Cleotha Abston, is scheduled to return to court on Wednesday to be arraigned on additional charges of first-degree murder, premeditated murder and first-degree perpetration of kidnapping. He is being held at the Shelby County Jail in Memphis on $500,000 bail.
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said Fletcher's family members have been fully cooperative with law enforcement throughout the ordeal and slammed "baseless speculation" that said otherwise.
"We have no reason to think this is anything other than an isolated attack by a stranger," he said.
Fletcher's death while out for a run quickly drew comparisons to the deaths of at least six women who in recent years were also each killed while running in their city or neighborhood streets:Sydney Sutherland, 25, whose body was discovered two days after she disappeared after going for a run in Jackson County, Arkansas;Mollie Tibbetts, who was found stabbed to death after going for a run near her Iowa home;Wendy Martinez, who was stabbed to death while jogging in a busy, well-lit area of Washington, D.C.;Karina Vetrano, who was found dead after going on an evening jog near her New York home;Vanessa Marcotte, who was killed as she was out jogging in broad daylight in Massachusetts; and Ally Brueger, who was shot in the back while running in Michigan.
In 2018, another athlete, a 22-year-old collegiate golf player, waskilled while she was golfing aloneon a course in Ames, Iowa.
After Fletcher's death, women took to Twitter to share their frustrations about the dangers they face while exercising outdoors, using the hashtag #ElizaFletcher.
"WE ARE SICK& TIRED OF HAVING TO WATCH OUT FOR MEN JUST BECAUSE WE BREATHE. Carry keys to stab someone, carry tasers, stun guns, mace, bear spray, loud alarms. Knowing self-defense, becoming a gun owner, never going anywhere alone. HOW ABOUT MEN DO BETTER,"wrote one Twitter user.
"Women runners worry most about 2 things before a run-whether they'll be abducted/assaulted/murdered or if they'll be subjected to cat calls and being sexualized. Men worry about whether they should poop before or after their run. We are not the same,"wrote another.
Fletcher was a marathon runner who finished the 2019 St. Jude Marathon in Memphis with a time of 3:27:26, placing her in the top two dozen female finishers,race results show.
Fletcher's family said in a statement that they "heartbroken and devastated" by the loss of Fletcher, whom they described as a "joy to so many."
"Now it's time to remember and celebrate how special she was and to support those who cared so much for her," the statement read. "We appreciate all the expressions of love and concern we have received. We are grateful beyond measure to local, state and federal law enforcement for their tireless efforts to find Liza and to bring justice to the person responsible for this horrible crime."
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Fellow female runners shared on Twitter that Fletcher should not be blamed for the attack, noting that women should be safe anytime and anywhere they run.
"It does not matter what time it was, if she was alone or what she was wearing. We should be safe to run when, where and how we want," wroteone commenter on Twitter.
"I've run late at night. I've run in in the early morning hours when it's still dark and the world sleeps. I've run in the middle of the day. If you know runners, this is normal. Please don't tell women when it's ok to go for a run. Peace to her family," wrote another commenter.
"As a mom of three, I understand why she would run at 430 in the morning. She likely only did something for herself... like running... when her kids were asleep so that she could give as much of her time to them as possible," wrote another.
A self-defense expert's advice for women
A2017 survey by Runner's World magazinefound more than half of women who run said they are concerned that they could be physically assaulted or receive unwanted physical contact during a run.
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In addition to the fear they face, women also face pressure from society to do something ("Don't wear headphones!" "Change your route!" "Never run at night!"), as though the behaviors of perpetrators are their fault.
It is impossible to prevent every attack and women should not feel the pressure to do so,Jennifer Cassetta, a self-defense expert, public speaker and health coach,told ABC News in 2018, after the deaths that year of Martinez, in Washington, D.C., and Tibbetts, in Iowa.
What women can do is empower themselves so they feel stronger and more confident out in the world, according to Cassetta.
"For me, teaching is about giving as many choices as possible in these horrible situations," said Cassetta, who noted that even taking one self-defense class can make a huge difference. "There are so many examples of women fighting back and getting away. It does work. Not all the time, but it can."
Here are Cassetta's three top tips for women.
1. Know the weapons you have on your body and how to use them
Run or walk powerfully with your shoulders back and head up, making eye contact with every person in your path, Cassetta recommends.
If you are attacked, dropping down to a squat or a lunge will drop your center of gravity and make you harder to the throw to the ground, according to Cassetta.
To fight back, Cassetta says to "acquire and fire."
"The eyes, throat and groin are most effective targets because they are all soft targets where you can do the most amount of damage with the least amount of effort," she said. "Scratch or gouge the eyes, give a punch to the throat to disrupt breathing and give a punch or a knee or an elbow to the groin."
2. Be aware of your surroundings
Women should be "alert but calm" when they're out and about, scanning for red flags and not getting too deep into thought, Cassetta says.
"When we're being alert, our intuition is our inner GPS, it gives us signals and sends us messages," she said. "If we're too caught up in our to-do list or what we're stressed about, we can't hear it."
When it comes to hearing, Cassetta also says don't forgo headphones, but do have the volume low enough so that you can hear the sounds around you.
Also, let other people know of your surroundings too. Designate a friend or family member as your "safety buddy," the person you text to let know when and where you are running and when you will return.
3. Arm yourself
The types of "non-lethal weapons" Cassetta recommends women arm themselves with include pepper spray, a personal alarm, and a sharp object worn as a piece of jewelry, what she calls "weapon jewelry."
"They make you that much more aware because you're holding onto it and aware of it," she said. "But you need to make sure you know how to use them. If you have pepper spray, make sure you know how to use it and have it accessible."
