Mississippi police said on Saturday they were still investigating the death of Tasia Fortune, a Black woman found hanging from a tree last month, a day after a man was arrested in connection with the killing. Loved ones also painted a picture of Fortune as a mother, athlete and woman of faith who they hoped would not solely be remembered for her horrific death. Police sought and found Jarques Ratliff, 51, who is Black, and arrested him when they encountered him walking on the street, authorities said on Friday.
Jackson’s police chief, RaShall Brackney, also said on Friday that additional arrests are expected in the case. Ratliff should appear in Jackson municipal court no later than Monday morning, said André de Gruy, Mississippi’s state defender. Brackney said Ratliff had an “association” with Fortune but would not elaborate on their relationship.
She said police arrested Ratliff on a homicide charge and called that “an important development” in the investigation. This case remains active, and additional arrests will be pending as our investigators continue to follow the evidence wherever it leads,” Brackney said on Friday. Police did not respond to calls and messages from the on Saturday about potential updates to the investigation beyond confirming it was still going on.
Ratliff also did not appear in Hinds county jail records on Saturday. It couldn’t immediately be determined if he had a lawyer, and a message was left for the public defender’s office. If represented by a public defender, it would be the Hinds county public defender, de Gruy said.
Christy Spivey, Fortune’s mother, said on Friday after police told her of the arrest: “I just started crying and told them, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you.’” Spivey said police did not share a motive or whether DNA led them to the arrest. Spivey said she did not know the man who had been arrested, but she was asking her daughter’s friends if they knew him. Spivey described the family as “in disbelief” and “shock”.
Police discovered Fortune’s body hanging in the backyard of an abandoned home in Jackson on 3 August. Spivey said she was certain that her daughter, 29, would not have killed herself. Even if she could climb that tree, no, no, she would never, ever, ever,” Spivey said.
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