Man charged with murder of Tasia Fortune, found hanging in Jackson, Mississippi

Jarques Ratliff, 51, was arrested Friday in connection with the death of Tasia Fortune, a Black woman found hanging from a tree in Jackson last month.

Arrest made in hanging death of Tasia Fortune in Jackson, Mississippi

A 51-year-old man has been charged with murder in connection with the death of Tasia Fortune, a Black woman whose body was found hanging from a tree in Jackson, Mississippi, last month. According to pbs.org, police arrested Jarques Ratliff on Friday after encountering him walking on the street.

Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney confirmed the arrest and said additional arrests are expected as the investigation continues. "But it is not the conclusion. This case remains active, and additional arrests will be pending as our investigators continue to follow the evidence wherever it leads," Brackney said Friday.

Ratliff, a Jackson resident, is listed in Hinds County jail records as charged with murder. It could not immediately be determined whether he had legal representation. André de Gruy, Mississippi's state defender, said Ratliff should appear in Jackson Municipal Court no later than Monday morning.

Brackney said Ratliff had an "association" with Fortune but declined to elaborate on the nature of their relationship. She described his arrest as "an important development" in the case, while stressing the investigation remained active.

The state medical examiner's office determined Thursday evening that Fortune's death was a homicide, Brackney said, enabling police to execute warrants they already held. Fortune's body was discovered on 3 August in the backyard of an abandoned home in Jackson.

Fortune's mother, Christy Spivey, said police notified her of the arrest on Friday. "I just started crying and told them 'thank you, thank you, thank you,'" Spivey said. She added that investigators did not share a motive or disclose whether DNA evidence led to the arrest. Spivey said she did not recognise the man who had been taken into custody and was asking her daughter's friends if they knew him. "We still don't have a lot of answers," she said.

Spivey said she was certain her daughter, who was 29 years old, had not taken her own life. "Absolutely not. Even if she could climb that tree, no, no, she would never, ever, ever," she said.

'A powerful legacy of resilience'

Friends and family described Fortune as a mother, athlete and woman of deep faith. An obituary published by Tucker Funeral Home in Central City, Kentucky, noted that Fortune had skipped her junior year of high school and was a star cross-country runner. "She leaves behind a powerful legacy of resilience, rooted deeply in her unwavering faith. Even in her darkest hours, she never stopped believing in her Savior," the obituary stated. Funeral services were held in Kentucky last month.

Fortune was the mother of four children, though she rarely saw two of them, Spivey said. The last time Spivey saw her daughter was in late July, when a planned family reunion was cancelled but Fortune made the trip to Kentucky regardless. "When she was there, there was this pull, like a spiritual pull to her. I needed her. I guess God knew that was going to be it," Spivey said.

Fortune had a difficult early life. She was removed from her parents as a child and placed in foster care, moving among group homes during her high school years before eventually running away to Mississippi. The obituary noted she had lived in Jackson for ten years. Spivey said she and Fortune's father had faced racism and violence as a mixed-race couple in Crittenden County, Kentucky, before Fortune was born.

In recent years, Fortune had been struggling with homelessness. The father of one of her children had been verbally and physically abusive toward her, Spivey said. Before her death, Fortune had spoken about starting a cleaning business and was working to get her life back on track.

Spivey said she would not stop seeking answers. "Say her name. Keep it going," she said. "Because I'm not going to stop until I get answers."

The case has drawn media attention internationally, Brackney acknowledged. Mississippi police confirmed Saturday that the investigation was still ongoing.

Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)