Crime13 September, 20262 min read
Mississippi Police Say Tasia Fortune’s Hanging Was Staged After Drug Dispute Killing
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Death ruled a homicide by medical examiner; Fortune found hanging behind abandoned house in Jackson. Jarques Ratliff arrested and charged with Fortune’s murder; further arrests anticipated.
30 outlets told this the same way.
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Staged hanging, drug motive
Mississippi police said Tasia Fortune’s hanging was “staged” after her death, and a detective testified that investigators believe she was already dead before her body was hanged from a tree behind an abandoned home in Jackson.
Jackson police Detective Samuel Dukes testified that the motive for the killing appears to have been a drug dispute, and he said interviews with others revealed that Fortune fought hard before she was killed.
Investigators ruled Fortune’s death a homicide and arrested two men, both black, on murder charges, while police issued a warrant for the arrest of a third person.
The BBC reported that Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney told the court that “Our language has been consistent...Ms Fortune was found in a hanging position. We have not released any information contrary to that statement.”
Arrests and courtroom testimony
Jarques Ratliff, 51, was arrested and pleaded not guilty, and the BBC reported that he remains in custody “without bond.”
Earnest Lloyd Jr, 25, was arrested in the case this week, and the BBC said authorities were seeking a third person.
Outside court, Fortune’s mother Christy Spivey told reporters that she had been aware that her daughter died before her body was hanged, and she said, “What bothered me was they said Tasia fought for her life. I know she did. I know my daughter,”
Lashuna Jones told reporters, “He didn’t do it, and I’m behind him,” as the hearing continued on whether there is sufficient evidence to send the case against Ratliff to a grand jury.
The BBC said the discovery sparked widespread fears in Jackson because the state has a deep history of racial violence and lynchings, and it noted that lawmakers have called for the justice department and the FBI to investigate hanging deaths of black people.
What police say comes next
A detective told the court that Fortune was apparently killed in a drug dispute before her body was placed in a tree in a “staged” lynching behind an abandoned home in Mississippi’s capital, and the BBC said officials have not disclosed the exact cause of death.
The BBC reported that the medical examiner confirmed earlier this month that Fortune’s cause of death was homicide and said there would be a murder charge, while police said they had not stated why they believe her body was hanged afterward.
NBC News said a detective told the court Friday that there may have been an issue over missing illegal narcotics, and the detective declined to release additional details because the grand jury has not received all of the evidence.
NBC News also reported that Ratliff’s attorney, Toney Baldwin, said he wants the “truth about what happened to come out,” while Fortune’s mother said she wants to know what evidence police have.
The hearing was meant to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to send the case against Ratliff to a grand jury, and it was set to resume Sept. 30.