Mississippi police said Saturday they were still investigating the death of Tasia Fortune, a Black woman found hanging from a tree last month, a day after a man was arrested in connection with the slaying. Loved ones also painted a picture of Fortune as a mother, athlete and woman of faith who they hoped would not be remembered solely for her horrific death. Police searched and found Jarques Ratliff, 51, who is black, and arrested him when they found him walking down the street, authorities said Friday. Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney also said Friday that additional arrests are expected in the case. Ratliff should appear in Jackson Municipal Court no later than Monday morning, said André de Gruy, Mississippi’s public defender. Brackney said Ratliff had a “partnership” with Fortune but did not elaborate on their relationship. He said police arrested Ratliff on a murder charge, calling it “an important development” in the investigation. “But it’s not the end of it. This case remains active and there will be additional arrests pending as our investigators continue to follow the evidence wherever it leads,” Brackney said Friday. “We understand that this case has received attention from the media around the world and from this community.” The state medical examiner’s office determined Thursday night that the death was a homicide, Brackney said, allowing police to execute the warrants they already had available. Police did not respond to calls and messages from the Associated Press on Saturday about possible updates to the investigation beyond confirming that it was still ongoing. Ratliff also did not appear in Hinds County Jail records Saturday. It could not immediately be determined if he had an attorney and a message was left with the public defender’s office. If he were represented by a public defender, it would be the Hinds County public defender, de Gruy said. Christy Spivey, Fortune’s mother, said Friday after police informed her of the arrest: “I started crying and told them, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you.'” Spivey said police did not share a motive or whether DNA led to their arrest. Spivey said he did not know the man who had been arrested, but was asking his daughter’s friends if they knew him. Spivey described the family as “disbelieving” and “shocked.” “We don’t have a lot of answers yet,” Spivey said. Police discovered Fortune’s body hanging in the backyard of an abandoned home in Jackson on August 3. Spivey said she was sure her daughter, 29, would not have committed suicide. “Of course not. Even if I could climb that tree, no, no, never, ever, ever,” Spivey said. Fortune posted in August on the website of Tucker Funeral Home in Central City, Kentucky, that Fortune’s “path was not always easy, and there were ups and downs.” She also claimed that she skipped her junior year of high school, was a star distance runner, and had great faith in God. Services were held last month in Kentucky. “She leaves behind a powerful legacy of resilience, deeply rooted in her unwavering faith. Even in her darkest moments, she never stopped believing in her Savior,” the obituary states. Fortune was also the mother of four children, but she rarely saw two of them, Spivey said. The last time Spivey saw her daughter was in late July for a planned family reunion in Kentucky that was canceled, but her daughter came to see her anyway. “When she was there, there was an attraction, like a spiritual attraction to her. I needed her. I guess God knew that would be it,” Spivey said. Spivey said she and Fortune’s father faced racism and violence as a mixed-race couple in Crittenden County, Kentucky, before Fortune was born. foster care as a child. During his high school years, he moved between group homes and eventually ran away to Mississippi. The obituary said he had lived in Jackson for 10 years. Spivey was not sure where Fortune lived at the time of her death, but said her daughter had been struggling with homelessness in recent years. Fortune had two sisters and was very close to them. The father of one of her children verbally and physically abused Fortune, Spivey said. Before she died, Fortune had talked about starting a cleaning business and was trying to get her life in order. “Say his name. Keep it up,” Spivey said. “Because I’m not going to stop until I get answers.”
