Christy Spivey poses with a portrait of her late daughter, Tasia Fortune, on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, in Marion, Ky. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Tasia Fortune was apparently killed in a drug dispute. Then, her body was hung in a tree in a “staged” lynching behind an abandoned home in Mississippi, a detective testified Friday (Sept. 25). This is the latest update following two recent arrests connected to Fortune’s passing.
Tasia Fortune died in a disagreement about drugs. She fought hard with her attackers before they killed her, Jackson police Detective Samuel Dukes told the court. Citing the medical examiner’s opinion, he also said the hanging was “staged.” Fortune was Black, and the Aug. 3 discovery of her hanging body sparked fear and drew widespread attention. The scene recalled actual lynchings in the Southern state, which has a long and troubled history of racial violence.
Authorities haven’t disclosed the exact cause of Tasia Fortune’s death or said why they think someone hung her body afterward. However, they ruled it a homicide and arrested two men, both of them also Black, on murder charges. They also issued an arrest warrant for an unnamed third person.
Outside court, Fortune’s mother, Christy Spivey, told reporters that she had been aware that her daughter died before the hanging.
“What bothered me was they said Tasia fought for her life. I know she did. I know my daughter,” Spivey said.
Spivey has said her daughter, who had four children, struggled with homelessness in recent years. She wasn’t sure where Tasia Fortune was living at the time of her death. She said Fortune had talked about starting a cleaning business and was trying to get her life in order.
The hearing on Friday (Sept. 25) was meant to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to send the case against the first man arrested, Jarques Ratliff, to a grand jury for a possible indictment. It will resume Sept. 30. Police arrested Ratliff, 51, in mid-September. He has pleaded not guilty. He remains jailed without bond. Additionally, police arrested a second defendant, 25-year-old Earnest Lloyd Jr., this week.
During Friday’s hearing in Mississippi, Ratliff blurted out in court that he and Tasia Fortune were friends.
“It sounded sincere. Tasia had a lot of friends,” Tasia’s mother Spivey said later. “I hope if he is innocent that he can prove he’s innocent. We don’t want any innocent people going to jail.”
Jarques Ratliff’s stepdaughter, Lashuna Jones, was among her father’s supporters at court. “He didn’t do it, and I’m behind him,” she said.
Associated Press writers Ed White and Sophie Bates contributed to this report via AP Newsroom.
