Police give murder probe update after black woman hanged from tree in Mississippi

Police give murder probe update after black woman hanged from tree in Mississippi A man has been arrested in connection with the death of 29-year-old Tasia Fortune, who was found hanging from a tree in Jackson, Mississippi, and more could follow, police say Police are refusing to rule out further arrests following the tragic death of Tasia Fortune, a black woman who was found hanging from a tree. Police discovered the 29-year-old's lifeless body hanging in the back garden of an abandoned home in Jackson, Mississippi. A 51-year-old man, Jarques Ratliff, believed to have had an "association" with the mother-of-four, has been arrested in connection with her death. Police, who did not elaborate on their relationship, say they could soon take more people into custody. "That arrest is an important development in this investigation, but it is not the conclusion," Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney said, before adding: "But this case remains active. "Additional arrests will be pending as our investigators continue to follow the evidence," the officer said, before confirming that the force had interviewed 15 people about the case. The state medical examiner’s office determined that her August death was a homicide, the detective said. Ms Fortune's mother, Christy Spivey, told local reporters she "just started crying and told them 'thank you, thank you, thank you,'" after learning of the man's arrest. Asked if her her daughter would have ever considered ending her own life, Ms Spivey responded: "Absolutely not. Even if she could climb that tree, no, no, she would never, ever, ever." “We sill don’t have a lot of answers,” she said, before describing the family as “in disbelief” and “shock” following the latest development. She added that the woman's father had faced racism and violence as a mixed-race couple in Kentucky before she was born. The woman died less than a year after the hanging deaths of 21-year-old Trey Reed, a Black student at Delta State University in Cleveland, and Cory Zukatis, an unhoused white man in his 30s, in Vicksburg. The killing of Ms Fortune has attracted national attention, both due to the severity of the crime and Mississippi’s brutal history of racist violence and lynchings of black people. At a press conference on Friday, Mr Brackney acknowledged the media interest, but declined to provide a motive for the killing except from the victim and suspect knew each other. “We understand the questions and the desire for answers given Mississippi’s history,” the police chief said. “We understand this case is being viewed through a broader lens, a global lens, and we do not dismiss those concerns - we are taking them seriously. “At the same time, we do have a responsibility to make sure that what we say publicly is supported by our evidence and facts,” Brackney continued. “We cannot speculate by the nature or the manner in which Ms Fortune was killed, beyond what has been officially determined by the medical examiner.”