Mississippi police arrest suspect in death of Black woman found hanging from tree

Police in Mississippi have arrested a 51-year-old man in connection with the death of a Black woman whose body was discovered hanging

JACKSON: Police in Mississippi have arrested a 51-year-old man in connection with the death of a Black woman whose body was discovered hanging from a tree at an abandoned property in Jackson last month. Authorities said the investigation remains active and additional arrests could follow.

The victim, Tasia Fortune, was found dead in the lot of an abandoned house in Jackson in August. Police initially did not publicly classify her death as a homicide, but earlier this week announced that investigators were treating the case as a possible killing.

Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney said on Friday that the medical examiner had determined Fortune’s cause of death was homicide. She identified the arrested suspect as Jarques Ratliff, adding that prosecutors were expected to pursue a murder charge.

“Today’s arrest is an important development, but it is not the conclusion,” Brackney said, stressing that investigators would continue examining the evidence. She said police had so far interviewed 15 people as part of the investigation.

Brackney also confirmed that Ratliff and Fortune had an “association,” although she did not provide further details about the nature of their relationship. Ratliff is also Black.

The case has generated significant concern in Jackson, a predominantly Black city in a state with a long and painful history of racial violence and lynching. The circumstances surrounding Fortune’s death, combined with the limited information initially provided by authorities, had left residents worried and demanding answers.

Fortune’s mother, Christy Spivey told that she became emotional after police contacted her with news of the arrest. She said the development brought a measure of relief and peace after weeks of uncertainty.

However, Spivey also said she hoped authorities had arrested the correct person. She and other residents had previously criticised what they viewed as a lack of communication and progress in the investigation.

Spivey said she had repeatedly attempted to contact Jackson police during the previous two weeks and had left several voicemails without receiving a response. Chief Brackney disputed the suggestion that the family had been left without communication, saying officers had remained in contact with Fortune’s mother, stepfather and biological father.

The family’s concerns became public during a city meeting on Tuesday, when a letter written by Spivey about the investigation and communication with police was read aloud. The announcement that Fortune’s death was being investigated as a possible homicide came shortly afterward.

The case has also drawn attention from federal lawmakers. Earlier this month, a member of Congress described Fortune’s death as potentially part of a wider pattern of what they called “modern-day lynchings.”

More than 50 members of Congress have written to the FBI and the US Department of Justice expressing alarm over reports of Black people being found hanging from trees in several states. They called for an independent investigation into the deaths.

The lawmakers said the reported cases warranted serious scrutiny because of the historical role of lynching in the United States. They said at least 10 hangings of Black people had been reported across the country this year and cited more than 70 documented lynchings between 2000 and 2025.

Police have not said that Fortune’s death was racially motivated, and investigators continue to examine the circumstances surrounding her killing.