Tennessee is hiring more forensic analysts to mitigate a rape kit backlog highlighted by Eliza Fletcher's murder suspect, who was previously accused of rape in 2021.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — In wake of Eliza Fletcher’s kidnapping and murder in September, state representative Antonio Parkinson has introduced a bill requiring TBI to test rape kits within 30 days.

MEMPHIS Tenn. — Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis said she’d like to speed up testing for every rape kit that gets processed, just like police did for Eliza Fletcher, but acknowledges the decisio… ...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Activists say more must be done to reduce the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s backlog of sexual assault kits. Monday marked the beginning of the trial for Cleotha Abston ...

New Tennessee bill would require rape kit testing within 30 days. ... The TBI drew sharp scrutiny earlier this year after the high-profile kidnapping and murder of Eliza Fletcher in Memphis.

The turnaround time to test a sexual assault kit can be months to even a year. That leaves victims languishing while police try to solve the crimes against them.

To help catch up on the backlog of rape kits, the TBI outsourced testing, flying 1100 kits to a lab in Florida where it costs $2,155 to test each kit. The TBI says $2.2 million in federal funding ...

Because of funding made available by the state, 47 employees have been hired in the last two years, and most have completed the training to test rape kits. By 2025, the TBI wants to have 50 people ...