Updated

Updated · BBC.com · Sep 12

Jackson Police Arrest 51-Year-Old Jarques Ratliff in Tasia Fortune Murder, Eyeing More Suspects

Updated

Updated · BBC.com · Sep 12

Jackson Police Arrest 51-Year-Old Jarques Ratliff in Tasia Fortune Murder, Eyeing More Suspects

Q: What hidden forensic evidence finally forced medical examiners to rule Tasia Fortune's tragic hanging a homicide?

It has not been publicly disclosed. The reporting says only that medical examiners officially ruled Tasia Fortune’s death a homicide on Thursday night, but authorities have not released the specific forensic finding that prompted that determination. What is public is limited: Fortune was found hanging from a tree behind a home off Road of Remembrance on Aug. 3; Jackson police said they had treated the case as a homicide investigation from the start while awaiting the medical examiner’s ruling; and after that ruling, police obtained search warrants and an arrest warrant for Jacques Ratliff, who was later arrested. Neither the police chief’s statement nor the related reporting identifies any “hidden” forensic evidence such as DNA, ligature analysis, trauma findings, toxicology, or signs of a staged scene. Investigators have interviewed about 15 people and said more arrests are expected, but the exact autopsy or forensic details remain undisclosed. So the accurate answer is that the evidence forcing the homicide ruling has not yet been made public by officials.

3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Sep 12

Jarques Ratliff, 51, was arrested and will be charged with murder after Mississippi's medical examiner confirmed Tasia Fortune's death was a homicide, Jackson police said Friday.
Fortune, 29, was found hanging from a tree near an abandoned home in Jackson in August; police said Ratliff knew her and that investigators have interviewed 15 people.
Additional arrests could follow as the case remains active, Police Chief RaShall Brackney said, while declining to detail the relationship between Ratliff and Fortune.
Christy Spivey, Fortune's mother, said the arrest brought some relief after weeks of what she and residents described as silence and slow communication from local officials.
The case has drawn national scrutiny in Mississippi, where more than 50 members of Congress this week cited at least 10 reported hangings of Black people this year and urged a federal review.