A 51-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the death of Tasia Fortune, a Black woman whose body was found hanging from a tree in Jackson, Mississippi, in August.
Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney identified the suspect as Jarques Ratliff and said investigators expect to make further arrests as the case develops. Ratliff, who is also Black, was reportedly known to Fortune, although police have not disclosed the nature of their association.
Brackney said on Friday that the medical examiner had determined Fortune’s death was a homicide. She confirmed that Ratliff would face a murder charge but stressed that the investigation remains active.
“That arrest today is an important development in this investigation, but it is not the conclusion,” Brackney said.
Fortune’s body was discovered in the lot of an abandoned property in Jackson, a majority-Black city with a painful history of racial violence and lynching. Her death has caused widespread concern among residents, particularly because of the circumstances surrounding her death and the limited information initially released by authorities.
Police previously described the case as a possible homicide earlier this week, weeks after Fortune’s body was discovered. Brackney said investigators had interviewed 15 people as part of the investigation and indicated that additional arrests could follow.
Fortune’s mother, Christy Spivey, told the BBC that she felt some relief after receiving news of the arrest. However, she said she hoped investigators had identified the correct person.
“I just hope that they’ve got the right person,” Spivey said.
The arrest came after criticism from Fortune’s family and some Jackson residents over what they described as a lack of communication and progress in the investigation.
Spivey previously said she had attempted to contact Jackson police several times, leaving multiple voicemails without receiving a response. Brackney rejected the suggestion that the family had been left without updates, saying police had maintained contact with Fortune’s mother, stepfather and biological father throughout the investigation.
A letter written by Spivey expressing concerns about communication and the pace of the investigation was read during a public city meeting on Tuesday. Shortly afterwards, Jackson police announced that they were treating Fortune’s death as a possible homicide.
The case has also attracted attention from members of the US Congress. Earlier this month, a member of Congress described Fortune’s death as part of a broader pattern of what could be modern-day lynchings.
More than 50 members of Congress have since written to the FBI and US Department of Justice expressing concern over reports of Black people being found hanging from trees in several states. They called for an independent investigation into the deaths.
According to the lawmakers, at least 10 hangings of Black people have been reported across the US this year. They also cited more than 70 documented lynchings between 2000 and 2025, arguing that the circumstances of the recent deaths warrant further scrutiny.
