Second murder arrest in death of Tasia Fortune found hanging in Mississippi
A second man has been charged with murder in the death of Tasia Fortune, 29, whose body was found hanging from a tree in Jackson, Mississippi. A third arrest is expected.
Second suspect charged in murder of Jackson woman found hanging from tree
A second man has been arrested on murder charges in connection with the death of Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old mother of four whose body was discovered hanging from a tree on 3 August in Jackson, Mississippi, abcnews.com reports.
Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney announced the arrest of Earnest Lloyd Jr., 25, during a Jackson City Council meeting on Tuesday. Lloyd was denied bond at a hearing the same day, according to WAPT, ABC's affiliate station in Jackson. It is unclear whether Lloyd has retained an attorney.
Brackney also indicated that a third arrest is expected in the case.
"We had two more arrest warrants issued in this case for Tasia Fortune," Brackney said. "And what I can tell you is, today, we've taken another person in custody and charged them with homicide in this case."
Jackson police said in a press release that the arrest warrant for the third suspect has been turned over to the U.S. Marshals Service for assistance. Officials declined to disclose the third suspect's identity at this time.
According to Brackney, the medical examiner's office classified Fortune's death as a homicide, though the specific manner of death has not been released publicly.
Lloyd's arrest followed that of Jarques Ratliff, 51, who was taken into custody on 11 September on murder charges. According to an affidavit reported by WAPT, Ratliff is accused of using a black cable cord to hang Fortune from a tree. Ratliff pleaded not guilty at a hearing on 14 September.
Ratliff's attorney, Toney Baldwin, argued during that hearing that his client was gainfully employed and sought his release on bond, but the judge denied the request. Baldwin confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday that Ratliff pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on Thursday morning. He declined to comment further on the murder charge.
Following Ratliff's arrest, Fortune's family issued a statement calling for patience from the public as the investigation continues.
"We would like to thank everyone for their prayers and support and are grateful for the silence to be broken but we also want to say that we wish for people to have patience and wait for the rest of the facts to come out before jumping to conclusions," the family said. "We are hoping soon we will have more answers."
Fortune's mother, Christy Spivey, told ABC News last week that she does not know Ratliff and is unaware of the nature of his relationship with her daughter.
Speaking to ABC News on 8 August, Spivey described the impact of her daughter's death on the family. "This has just devastated us," she said. "Tasia was strong-minded, she was full of laughs and love, she had faith in God ... She had so little and gave so much."
ABC News reached out to Fortune's family for further comment following Tuesday's second arrest.
Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)