JACKSON, Miss. — The man arrested in the death of Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old Black woman who was found hanging from a tree behind an abandoned Mississippi home last month, was denied bond after pleading not guilty to murder.
Wearing a red jumpsuit, Jarques Ratliff, 51, made his first court appearance in Jackson Municipal Court on Monday and was formally charged with murder. His attorney, Toney Baldwin, argued that Ratliff was not a flight risk and was “gainfully employed,” but Judge Taurean Buchanan ordered him to be held on no bond.
A law enforcement official present for the hearing alleged that Ratliff was “a danger to the citizens of Jackson.”
Ratliff, who Jackson police said had an “association” with Fortune, was arrested Friday. Police Chief RaShall Brackney said more arrests are expected. A motive and Fortune’s cause of death have not been released.
Fortune was originally from Kentucky but had been living in Jackson for the last 10 years, according to her obituary. Her body was found Aug. 3. Her death was classified as a homicide Thursday evening.
Brackney said police secured two search warrants and an arrest warrant for Ratliff.
She said that investigators served the search warrants on Friday but did not find Ratliff at the location. As officers headed back to headquarters, they encountered him walking down the street and took him into custody, Brackney said.
Brackney said the arrest was “an important development,” but “it’s not the conclusion.”
“This case remains active, and additional arrests will be pending as our investigators continue to follow the evidence wherever it leads,” the chief said. “Tasia and her children deserve nothing less,” she added.
Fortune’s mother, Christy Spivey, told The Associated Press that she cried after learning of the arrest. Spivey said she did not know Ratliff and said the family is “in disbelief” and “still don’t have a lot of answers.”
Baldwin said he sympathizes with Fortune’s family but asked that people avoid speculating about the case.
“A charge is just merely an accusation. ... It’s not a conviction,” he told reporters outside the courthouse. “We look forward to having our day where we present the full picture.”
Two men whom Baldwin identified as Ratliff’s relatives declined to comment.
The father of Fortune’s 5-year-old son, Terence Anderson, was arrested last month on an unrelated weapons charge. According to NBC affiliate WLBT, Anderson, 65, was said to be a person of interest in her death.
His brother, Tony Anderson, told NBC News on Monday that Terence remains in custody on the weapons charge. Tony Anderson said he does not believe his brother is still considered a person of interest.
Jackson police and the Hinds County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
“This just about ruined his life. He hasn’t been able to work; people thinking you done it,” Tony Anderson said. “His little son worried about him. ... It’s just messed up all the way around.”
Fortune, a mother of four children, was remembered in her obituary as an “intelligent and talented” woman. It said she was a cross-country athlete in her younger years.
“Tasia’s path was not always easy, and there were highs and lows,” her obituary said. “But no matter what, she never lost her faith in God. She leaves behind a powerful legacy of resilience, rooted deeply in her unwavering faith.”
The case garnered national headlines given the state’s history of racially motivated violence and a distrust in the police’s handling of death investigations involving Black people. Fortune’s death sparked comparisons to that of Demartravion “Trey” Reed, a Black college student who was found hanging from a tree in Mississippi last year.
Reps. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and colleagues said in a letter to the Justice Department and the FBI that they wanted a “thorough, transparent, and comprehensive” investigation into “the numerous incidents of Black people found hanging across the country.”
“Inaction by the federal government is tantamount to complicity. This is part of the legacy of racial terror in the United States, and this neglect has long-term consequences,” the lawmakers said in a statement. “Not only are innocent lives lost, but lynching inflicts deep traumatic and psychological wounds on family members, neighbors, and the entire Black community.”
