Police in the US state of Mississippi have arrested a man in connection with the death of a Black woman found hanged from a tree, and say more arrests could follow. Tasia Fortune's body was discovered in the lot of an abandoned home in Jackson in August, but police only announced this week that they were treating her death as a possible homicide.
Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney said on Friday: "That arrest today is an important development in this investigation, but it is not the conclusion. This case remains active." The suspect was identified as Jarques Ratliff, 51, who is also Black. Brackney said there was an "association" between Ratliff and Fortune but would not elaborate. The medical examiner confirmed Fortune's cause of death as homicide.
Fortune's mother, Christy Spivey, told the BBC she cried when police called to update her about the arrest, saying: "I guess I do feel like a little sigh of relief... like a little bit of peace just come over me." She added: "I just hope that they've got the right person."
The arrest followed weeks of what Spivey and residents described as relative silence and inaction from local officials. Combined with the grim nature of Fortune's death and Mississippi's history of racial lynchings, the lack of information had left the community in shock and fear. Spivey earlier said she had tried contacting Jackson police several times, leaving multiple voicemails, and had not heard back.
Brackney addressed the family's frustration on Friday, stating: "We have been in constant contact with the mother and the stepfather, as well as the biological father, throughout this case." A letter Spivey wrote to officials about the limited communication was read during a public city meeting on Tuesday, moments before police announced the possible homicide.
More than 50 members of Congress this week sent a letter to the FBI and Justice Department, saying they were "extremely alarmed by reports of Black people found hanging from trees in numerous states" and calling for an independent investigation. They noted at least 10 reported hangings of Black people in the US this year, and more than 70 documented lynchings between 2000 and 2025.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk