New federal funding targets Metro Police Crime Lab’s backlog of sexual assault kits

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – When Memphis mother and Kindergarten teacher Eliza Fletcher was murdered two years ago, what emerged beyond the case was the problem of untested sexual assault kits in Tennessee.

Police say the man convicted of Fletcher’s murder should have been arrested in connection with a rape years ago. However, since the rape kit in this case was not tested, he remained a free man.

“Perpetrators of these crimes are ticking time bombs waiting to find their next victim,” said Verna Wyatt, Co-Founder of Tennessee Voices for Victims.

In response to the heavily scrutinized backlog, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation not only increased its testing but also outsourced 1,100 kits to the Florida lab.

Leaders say these initiatives have increased transaction speeds by three times the speed they reached in 2022.

“The sooner they get them off the streets, the safer the streets will be,” Wyatt said. “It’s just a fact.”

Metro Police leaders hope to emulate that practice here. If allowed by the Metro Council, they would allocate nearly a quarter of a million dollars under a grant they received from the federal government to address their own backlog problem they say they are facing.

Accordingly, some of the financing grant applicationwill also look to expand MNPD’s Forensic Biology Laboratory, where they test these kits.

“The sooner you catch that person, the sooner they won’t have the opportunity to create another victim,” Wyatt said.

Wyatt has been a victim advocate in Tennessee for decades. Since her own sister was raped and murdered, she has dedicated her life to ensuring families don’t have to go through the same pain alone.

He believes outsourcing untested kits will expedite the justice that victims deserve.

“It’s terrible that a victim has to wait not knowing who the culprit is,” Wyatt said. “I think most victims think, ‘Maybe he’ll come back and get me again.’ But they also think: ‘He’s going to do it again.’”

Wyatt hopes outsourcing will not only fix the backlog but also prevent recidivism from creating a large network of victims.

“I would say the long-term cost of victimization is much greater compared to dealing with it on the front end,” Wyatt said.

resolution He will appear before the Metro Council’s Public Health and Safety Committee at its meeting on Thursday, November 7.

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