A 51-year-old man was arrested Friday in connection with the death of 29-year-old Black mother Tasia Fortune, who was found hanging from a tree in Jackson, Mississippi, on Aug. 3.
The Jackson Police Department identified the man as Jacques Ratliff at a Friday press conference announcing the arrest.
Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney said there was an “association” between the two, but did not specify in what capacity. She also said at least one more arrest warrant could be possible.
Police executed two search warrants on Friday, according to Brackney. He was not present, but was later arrested on Capitol Street.
The arrest comes after the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Fortune’s death a homicide, hours of investigation and more than a dozen interviews, according to Brackney.
“The arrest today is an important development in this investigation, but it is not the conclusion,” Brackney said before encouraging the public not to speculate on Fortune’s death. “We owe it to Ms. Fortune, to her family and to the integrity of this investigation to let the evidence guide us.”
In a GoFundMe campaign, Fortune’s aunt Etta Avolio said she was a “strong-minded, big-hearted, vibrant young woman” and a mother of four.
“The family also wants others to know that justice will be served, and they hold firmly to their faith, believing that God is on their side as they walk through this heartbreaking loss,” Avolio added.
Fortune’s death follows a similar case concerning a 21-year-old Black student at Delta State University named Trey Reed, who was found hanging on the Mississippi campus in September 2025.
The Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office ruled his death a suicide, but his family has sought an independent autopsy. In July, the family said civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who was working on the case with them, had not responded in months and never shared the independent autopsy results.
A 35-year-old unhoused white man named Cory Zukatis was also found dead while hanging from a tree in Vicksburg, Mississippi, the same day as Reed. Authorities said the case was not related to Reed’s. His death was also ruled a suicide.
The case of 18-year-old Nolan Xavier Wells has also gained attention in recent months after his friends returned from a Fourth of July boat trip without him, despite Wells leaving with them to Horn Island eight miles off Mississippi’s coast. His parents have called for “honesty and transparency.”