Murder arrest in Mississippi hanging death of Tasia Fortune; more suspects expected
A man has been arrested on a murder charge after Tasia Fortune, 29, was found hanging from a tree in Jackson, Mississippi. Police say further arrests are pending.
Further arrests expected after Jackson man charged with murder in Fortune hanging case
A 51-year-old Jackson resident has been arrested on a murder charge in connection with the death of Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old Black woman found hanging from a tree in the backyard of an abandoned home in Jackson, Mississippi, on 3 August, AP News reports. Police say the investigation is not over.
Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney announced on Friday that Jarques Ratliff was taken into custody after officers encountered him walking on the street. Ratliff, who is Black, is expected to appear before Jackson Municipal Court no later than Monday morning, according to André de Gruy, Mississippi's state public defender.
Brackney confirmed that Ratliff had an "association" with Fortune but declined to elaborate on the nature of their relationship. She described the arrest on a murder charge as "an important development" in the investigation, while making clear that it does not mark its 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. "We understand that this case has received media attention from across the globe, and across this community."
Hinds County jail records confirmed Saturday that Ratliff faces a murder charge. The records listed him as a Jackson resident but contained little further detail. It could not immediately be determined whether he has legal representation. De Gruy said that if he is represented by a public defender, it would fall under the Hinds County office. A message was left for that office.
The state medical examiner's office ruled Fortune's death a homicide on Thursday evening, Brackney said, enabling investigators to execute warrants they had already prepared. Jackson police did not respond to calls and messages from The Associated Press on Saturday regarding further updates, beyond confirming the investigation was continuing.
Fortune's mother, Christy Spivey, said police informed 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 indicate whether DNA evidence led to the arrest. Spivey said she did not recognise the man's name and was asking her daughter's friends whether they knew him. She described the family as being in "disbelief" and "shock."
"We still don't have a lot of answers," Spivey said.
Spivey said she was certain her daughter would not have taken her own life. "Absolutely not. Even if she could climb that tree, no, no, she would never, ever, ever," she said.
Friends and family painted a fuller portrait of Fortune in the days following her death. An obituary posted by Tucker Funeral Home in Central City, Kentucky, described her as a star cross-country runner who skipped her junior year of high school and held a strong Christian faith. Services were held in Kentucky last month.
"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 read.
Fortune was the mother of four children, though she rarely saw two of them, Spivey said. She had lived in Jackson for approximately ten years, according to the obituary. In recent years she had been struggling with homelessness. The father of one of her children was verbally and physically abusive toward her, Spivey said.
Fortune's early life was marked by instability. She was removed from her parents' care as a child and placed in foster care. 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. During her high school years, Fortune moved between group homes before eventually running away to Mississippi.
The last time Spivey saw her daughter was in late July, when Fortune travelled to Kentucky for a planned family reunion that was ultimately cancelled. "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.
Before her death, Fortune had spoken of starting a cleaning business and was working to stabilise her life.
A makeshift memorial was erected at the Jackson property where her body was discovered. Spivey said she would continue pressing for answers.
"Say her name. Keep it going," Spivey said. "Because I'm not going to stop until I get answers."
Source: Google News MT