In a new development in the case of a Mississippi Black woman found dead in a tree, authorities said they now believe that Tasia Fortune’s hanging was staged and that she was killed at another location.
The new details in the case were revealed during a court hearing for Jarques Ratliff, one of two men arrested in connection with the death, according to reporting from the Mississippi Clarion Ledger
, part of the USA TODAY Network.Det. Samuel Dukes described Fortune's death as "staged" due to investigators believing she was killed at another location before her body was placed in a hanging position in the tree. Dukes said authorities determined Fortune was dead for two to three days before her body was discovered.
The 51-year-old Ratliff was arrested
Sept. 11 in Jackson, Mississippi, Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney told reporters Sept. 25.
"With that determination, our investigators moved quickly," Brackney said of the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office’s findings. "That arrest today is an important development in this investigation, but it is not the conclusion."
According to the same outlet, Ratliff’s attorney, Toney Baldwin, said his client was not involved and that he wanted the “truth about what happened to come out.”
Earnest Lloyd Jr. and 45-year-old Eric Clark have also been arrested in connection to the death. Lloyd was arrested Sept. 22, while Clark turned himself in to authorities on Sept. 25, according to the Mississippi Clarion Ledger.
Tasia Fortune, 29, was found dead and hanging from a tree in the backyard of an abandoned house in Jackson on Aug. 3. The discovery of her body was followed by calls for an investigation, including from prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump.
Brackney noted the attention the case has drawn because of the Black woman’s death by hanging and Mississippi's troubled past with violence based on race.
"We understand the question and the desire for answers given Mississippi’s history," Brackney said. "We do not dismiss those concerns, we are taking them seriously."
Investigators have also revealed that "missing illegal narcotics" were central to the crime, with allegations that Fortune had taken them.
USA TODAY’s Michael Loria contributed to this report.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tasia Fortune's hanging was staged, Mississippi investigators say
