Arrest over the death of a Black woman found hanged in Mississippi
Jarques Ratliff, 51, a Black Jackson, Mississippi resident, was arrested on a murder charge on September 12 in connection with the death of Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old Black mother of four whose body was found hanging from a tree behind an abandoned home in Jackson on August 3; Mississippi's state medical examiner ruled her death a homicide the night before the arrest, after weeks of what her family and Jackson residents described as slow, unclear communication from police. Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney said Ratliff had an 'association' with Fortune that she declined to detail, and that additional arrests were expected as investigators, who had already interviewed about 15 people, continued following the evidence. Fortune's mother, Christy Spivey, said she never believed her daughter died by suicide -- 'Even if she could climb that tree, no, no, she would never' -- and that police had not shared a motive or forensic basis for the arrest. Ratliff pleaded not guilty at a September 15 hearing, where a judge denied him bond and prosecutors said Fortune had been hanged with a black cable cord and that Ratliff had tried to hide from officers in a vehicle at the time of his arrest.
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15 September 2026
13 September 2026
- Arrest cuts against Dem story on death of Black woman found hanging in South Fox News
- Police say more arrests coming in death of Mississippi woman found hanging from tree AP