2nd Black Man Arrested In Hanging Death Of Tasia Fortune In Mississippi
Another Black man was arrested in the hanging death of 29-year-old Tasia Fortune, a young mother of four found hanging from a tree behind an abandoned house in Jackson, Mississippi.
Initially, there were no arrests in Fortune’s death, and there was no word until about two weeks ago, when her death was ruled a homicide. A day after that, police arrested 51-year-old Jarques “Jock” Ratliff in direct connection with Fortune’s death, as reported by NewsOne.
According to NBC, Ratliff pleaded not guilty and was denied bond. Police said he had an “association” with Fortune but did not provide details.
On Tuesday, during the Jackson City Council meeting, Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney announced that 25-year-old Earnest Lloyd Jr. was arrested and charged with murder for his alleged role in Fortune’s death.
WLBT reports that police are seeking a third suspect, whom they have not named, for whom they obtained an arrest warrant, which they turned over to the U.S. Marshals for service. The outlet reports that police said additional warrants are forthcoming.
The first man publicly connected to the case was reportedly an alleged former boyfriend. According to WLBT, he was described as a person of interest and was arrested days after Fortune’s body was found on Aug. 3, but on an unrelated charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm, with bond set at $250,000.
Detectives said in court that he admitted arguing with Fortune but denied any involvement in her death. Police said the two were in a relationship, which he denied. WLBT reports that he lives on the same block of Road of Remembrance where Fortune was found. He has not been charged in her death.
Interestingly, investigators have not confirmed Fortune’s exact cause of death.
“Tasia Fortune was found in a hanging position, and I need to stay with that language to not jeopardize this case,” Brackney said Tuesday, according to WLBT.
As reported by CNN, Brackney would not say how long it took police to find Fortune, but she noted that the body was in various states of decomposition. Fortune’s mother, Christy Spivey, last saw her daughter on July 26 at a family reunion in Kentucky. “She did not do this to herself,” Spivey said.
The case made national headlines because of Mississippi’s history of racially motivated violence and distrust of how police handle death investigations involving Black people. NBC also cites NAACP figures showing 581 recorded lynchings in Mississippi between 1882 and 1968, more than any other state.
According to CNN, two other people have been found hanging from trees in Mississippi in less than a year, and both deaths were ruled suicides.
For now, police say more arrests are coming, and justice may be served for Tasia Fortune and her family.
SEE ALSO:
Black Man Arrested in Hanging Death of Tasia Fortune
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