Mississippi authorities have arrested a 51-year-old man on a homicide cost after an official murder ruling within the dying of Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old Black mom of 4 discovered hanging from a tree behind an deserted house final month.
The arrest follows weeks of intense media consideration and widespread on-line dialogue relating to the circumstances surrounding Fortune’s dying in a state with a historic legacy of racialized violence. However legislation enforcement officers confirmed that the suspect taken into custody is Jarques Ratliff, a Black Jackson resident who had a previous private reference to Fortune.
Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney introduced throughout a information convention Saturday that Ratliff was taken into custody with out incident whereas strolling alongside Capitol Road in Jackson, shortly after officers executed search warrants at associated properties.
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Chief Brackney emphasised that whereas the arrest marks a big breakthrough, the investigation stays lively and extra arrest warrants are anticipated to be served as detectives comply with additional leads.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., final week warned of “racial terror” and “widespread modern-day lynchings” within the U.S. as she joined dozens of Democrats demanding that the Division of Justice examine hanging deaths of Black People.
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Fortune’s physique was found Aug. 3 within the yard of a vacant property within the 500 block of Highway of Remembrance in Jackson.
Though investigators logged a whole lot of hours interviewing practically 15 people and reviewing bodily proof over the previous month, formal arrest warrants couldn’t be executed till the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Workplace formally categorized Fortune’s dying a murder late Thursday.
As soon as that classification was handed down, members of the Jackson Police Division’s robbery-homicide unit moved swiftly to safe and execute two search warrants alongside the arrest warrant for Ratliff.
Addressing public curiosity within the case, Chief Brackney acknowledged the heightened scrutiny however careworn that legislation enforcement stays strictly guided by verifiable bodily proof reasonably than exterior hypothesis. She famous that authorities understood public concern given Mississippi’s historical past however stated the division is certain to make sure all public statements are backed by forensic information.
Tasia Fortune in a portrait displayed Sept. 8, 2026, in Marion, Ky. Inset: Jarques Ratliff, who was arrested in connection to Fortune’s dying.
“We perceive that this case has acquired media consideration from throughout the globe and throughout the neighborhood. We perceive the questions and the need for solutions given Mississippi’s historical past,” Brackney stated.
“We perceive this case is being considered via a broader lens — a worldwide lens — and we don’t dismiss these issues. We’re taking them critically. On the identical time, we do have a accountability to ensure that what we are saying publicly is supported by our proof and the information.”
Brackney additionally immediately clarified that legislation enforcement had by no means formally designated any individuals of curiosity previous to Ratliff’s arrest, refuting social media reviews {that a} 65-year-old man had beforehand been recognized as a suspect.
Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney talking at a information convention.
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Fortune’s mom, Christy Spivey, stated police promptly notified her household of the murder ruling and Ratliff’s arrest on Friday. Spivey expressed gratitude for the police work and reiterated her agency perception that her daughter didn’t die by suicide, including that Fortune would by no means take her personal life.
In keeping with relations and a web based obituary printed in Kentucky, Fortune grew up in Kentucky, skipped her junior 12 months of highschool and was a star cross-country runner guided by sturdy non secular religion earlier than relocating to Jackson a decade in the past.
Spivey famous that her daughter had skilled homelessness lately however was actively working to launch a cleansing enterprise and stabilize her life previous to her dying.
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Ratliff is being held on the Hinds County Detention Middle on a cost of homicide. In keeping with Mississippi State Defender André de Gruy, Ratliff is scheduled to make his preliminary look in Jackson Municipal Court docket no later than Monday morning, the place formal costs can be learn and bond situations set.
Police haven’t publicly detailed the particular bodily proof linking Ratliff to the scene, nor have they expanded on the precise nature of his private affiliation with Fortune as investigators put together for additional potential arrests.
Unique article supply: Arrest rips aside media narrative on dying of Black lady discovered hanging from Mississippi tree