Mississippi police make 2nd arrest in death of Black woman found hanging
from tree, seek 3rd suspect
[September 24, 2026]
By SOPHIE BATES
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Police in Mississippi have arrested a second man
in the death of a Black woman found hanging from a tree and have issued
an arrest warrant for a third suspect.
Jackson police said late Tuesday that they arrested 25-year-old Earnest
Lloyd Jr. in the death of 29-year-old Tasia Fortune, whose body was
found hanging behind an abandoned home in the city on Aug. 3.
Like Fortune and the first man arrested, 51-year-old Jarques Ratliff,
Lloyd is Black. He appeared at a brief hearing Wednesday, where he was
denied bond.
According to local TV station WLBT, investigators said witnesses
directed them to Lloyd, who had allegedly had a physical altercation
with Fortune days or minutes before she was killed. Police contend that
Lloyd hanged Fortune with a black cable cord, and three co-defendants
are also suspected of being involved in her death, the station reported.
Police and the court clerk said Wednesday that they didn't know if Lloyd
has a lawyer.
Fortune's mother Christy Spivey, who attended the hearing, said
afterward that she was ecstatic to see arrests made in her daughter’s
death. She said neither she nor several of her daughter's friends knew
Lloyd, and she cautioned that everyone is innocent until proven guilty.
“My family is not the only family that this is affecting,” Spivey said
of the defendants' families. “I feel for them as well. The only
difference is that mine can never come back.”
[to top of second column]
|
"I’ll never truly have peace,” she said.
Ratliff was arrested in September on murder charges. He pleaded not
guilty and remains jailed without bond. His lawyer, Toney Baldwin,
hasn't responded to multiple requests for comment.
Police said in a statement that they issued an arrest warrant for a
third suspect, but gave no details about that person’s identity or
alleged link to Fortune's death. They also said they expect to issue
additional warrants.
After Ratliff's arrest, Jackson's police chief, RaShall Brackney,
said Ratliff had an “association” with Fortune, but she didn't
elaborate.
Although police haven't suggested a possible motive for the killing,
the case has attracted widespread attention because the manner of
death recalled lynchings in the Southern state.
A Kentucky native, Fortune had four children and had been living in
Jackson for about a decade, relatives said.
Spivey previously said her daughter struggled with homelessness in
recent years, and that she wasn’t sure where her daughter was living
at the time of her death. She said that before her death, her
daughter had talked about starting a cleaning business and was
trying to get her life in order.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
