Man charged in Tasia Fortune’s death pleads not guilty, is denied bond
By Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN
(CNN) — More than a month after Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old Black woman, was found hanging from a tree outside an abandoned house in Jackson, Mississippi, a man charged with murder in connection with her death appeared in court Monday.
Jackson police announced the murder charge against 51-year-old Jarques Ratliff on Friday, after the medical examiner ruled Fortune’s death a homicide.
Ratliff pleaded not guilty Monday and was denied bond, his attorney, Toney Baldwin, told CNN. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 25, Baldwin said.
Ratliff is accused of using a black cable cord to hang Fortune from a tree, CNN affiliate WAPT reported, citing an affidavit.
“It’s just a mere accusation. It’s not a conviction,” Baldwin said of the murder charge against Ratliff. “We look forward to presenting the whole truth, and I think upon a thorough investigation of this case, the truth will prevail.”
Jackson police have said additional arrests are expected in the ongoing investigation.
Ratliff’s hearing in Jackson Municipal Court follows a growing demand for answers from the young mother’s family and community leaders in Mississippi, where two other people have been found hanging from trees in less than a year.
Here’s what we know:
A young mother’s death
Authorities responded to the abandoned home on August 3 and found Fortune in a “hanging position,” according to Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney.
Christy Spivey, Fortune’s mother, told ABC News she had last seen Fortune on July 26 in Kentucky for a family reunion. When asked how long it took for police to discover Fortune, Brackney did not offer a time frame, but noted her body was found in “various states of decomposition.”
Brackney told CNN she has been intentional about the language used to describe the state in which Fortune was found.
“We don’t want to speculate, and we don’t want to add fuel to the fire of these incidents in which other people have said that she was found hung,” Brackney said Saturday.
Investigators must examine a number of factors and evidence, including fiber collection and the position of tree limbs, to determine exactly how Fortune was killed, Brackney said.
While authorities have yet to publicly disclose how Fortune was killed, the office ruled her death a homicide Thursday, after which the Jackson Police Department charged Ratliff with murder.
While police have said they are being careful not to disclose information that could compromise the investigation, the public has grown increasingly eager for answers, especially in light of two other recent hangings in Mississippi that were ultimately ruled as suicides.
“She did not do this to herself,” Spivey said. “I know my daughter, and she did not do this to herself.”
As calls for answers grew, Jackson City Councilman Kenneth Stokes wrote a letter in August to Mississippi US Attorney Baxter Kruger asking for assistance in the case.
“People are upset about it. Quite naturally, they should be. This is something that’s a very disturbing situation and case in our city, in our state,” Mayor John Horhn previously told CNN affiliate WAPT. “But we’re not going to jump to conclusions.”
The arrest and investigation
Ratliff knew Fortune, according to police, but it’s not clear how.
Brackney described it as an association, adding “the manner and the nature of that association” will be revealed through Ratliff’s court appearances and the ongoing investigation.
In their investigation, police interviewed nearly 15 people related to the case, and it “became more and more apparent” Ratliff, who was known to the Jackson Police Department, had a connection to Fortune, Brackney said.
As demands for answers grew in the days before Ratliff was charged, Brackney said police had to wait for the medical examiner to make its ruling.
“One of the delays is you cannot get a warrant for homicide until the medical examiner gives us an exact cause of death,” Brackney said.
After obtaining a warrant for Ratliff’s arrest, police executed search warrants for two separate locations to gather evidence in the case Friday. Officers happened to see Ratliff exiting a convenience store and arrested him as he was walking down the street, Brackney said.
“It was completely happenstance,” Brackney said.
Investigators and SWAT team members who were helping execute the search warrants supported the arrest, and Ratliff did not resist, Brackney said, adding, “We had quite a show of officers.”
Fortune’s mother was immediately notified of the arrest, Brackney said Friday.
When asked whether Ratliff is cooperating with the investigation, Brackney said only that police requested an interview with him after taking him into custody.
When asked about any connection between Fortune’s death and the other hanging deaths in Mississippi, Brackney said, “I would not make that determination. That would be a determination that the FBI would make.”
Remembering Tasia Fortune
While the details of Fortune’s death have captured the nation, her family and community have made an effort to honor her life.
A pink and white memorial was erected in the backyard of the abandoned house where she was found, with rainbow pinwheels, white flowers and teddy bears surrounding her photograph.
Fortune is survived by four young children — 7-year-old Davion, 5-year-old Terence Jr., 4-year-old Tristian and 1-year-old Donte’ — as well as her parents and an extended family who loved her deeply, according to her obituary.
Fortune had lived in Jackson for the past 10 years, but was laid to rest in Kentucky, where she was born.
She was an intelligent young woman who skipped her junior year of high school and was a star cross-country athlete. Though her life wasn’t always easy — her mother told The Associated Press that she had struggled with homelessness in recent years — she lived with a resilient spirit and dedicated faith, her obituary notes.
As Fortune’s story continues to make headlines around the nation, strangers in Mississippi and beyond have joined in remembering the life of the young mother and demanding justice for her family.
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CNN’s Dalia Faheid, Elise Hammond and Chris Boyette contributed to this report.
