Jackson, Mississippi, police arrested 51-year-old Jarkes Ratliff in connection with the death of 29-year-old Tasia Fortune. The woman was found hanging from a tree on Aug. 3 in the yard of an abandoned house. Jackson Police Chief Rashaall Brackney said the suspect had some connection to Fortune but did not specify the nature of their relationship. After medical examiners ruled the death a homicide, police were able to execute previously prepared search and arrest warrants. The case remains open, and additional arrests are possible.
Fortune’s mother, Kristi Spivey, said she cried and thanked police after learning of the arrest, but the family still does not know the motive or other important details. It is also unclear whether DNA analysis played a role in the investigation or whether Ratliff has an attorney. Spivey firmly rejects the theory that Fortune died by suicide, saying that despite her daughter’s struggles, she would never have taken such a step.
Fortune was the mother of four children and had faced homelessness and other serious difficulties in recent years. She was removed from her family as a child, then lived in several social-service facilities before eventually moving to Mississippi. Her mother said Fortune once endured physical and verbal abuse from the father of one of her children, but before her death she was trying to rebuild her life and planning to start a cleaning business. Spivey urges people not to forget her daughter and continues to demand a full investigation: “Say her name. Keep talking about her.”
Based on: Mississippi police arrest a man in the death of Tasia Fortune