Authorities in Mississippi have apprehended a suspect in connection with the death of Tasia Fortune, a Black woman discovered hanging from a tree last month. Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney announced at a news conference that police obtained search and arrest warrants for Jarques Ratliff and detained him while he was walking on the street.
Chief Brackney mentioned that Ratliff had a connection to Fortune, but did not provide additional details about their relationship. Ratliff, 51, faces murder charges according to the police.
The state medical examiner’s office determined Thursday evening that Fortune’s death was a homicide, prompting the execution of the warrants against Ratliff.
Chief Brackney stated, “This case remains active and additional arrests will be pending.” She emphasized that the arrest is a significant step in the investigation, but the probe continues. Police have interviewed nearly 15 individuals, collected forensic evidence, and followed various leads in the case.
Christy Spivey, Fortune’s mother, expressed her emotional response to the arrest, saying, “I just started crying and told them ‘thank you, thank you, thank you.'” The police have not disclosed the motive behind the homicide or whether DNA evidence led to Ratliff’s arrest. Spivey mentioned that she was unfamiliar with the suspect and was asking her daughter’s friends if they knew him, describing her family as “in disbelief” and “shock.”
Tasia Fortune, 29, was found hanging in the backyard of an abandoned house in Jackson on August 3. Her death occurred less than a year after the deaths of Trey Reed, a 21-year-old Black student at Delta State University, and Cory Zukatis, a White man in his 30s without housing, in Vicksburg. Cleveland police concluded Reed died by suicide, and the Mississippi State Medical Examiner determined Zukatis’s death as a suicide.
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