Jackson Police Arrest Jarques Ratliff, 51, in Homicide of Tasia Fortune Found Hanging in Abandoned Home

POLICY WIRE — Jackson, United States — Mississippi authorities have arrested 51-year-old Jarques Ratliff on a murder charge in connection with the death of 29-year-old Tasia Fortune, whose body was discovered hanging in the backyard of an abandoned Jackson residence on August 3.

Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney confirmed the arrest during a Friday news conference, stating officers detained Ratliff after encountering him walking on a city street and executing pre-obtained search and arrest warrants.

Brackney described Ratliff as having an ‘association’ with Fortune but declined to elaborate on its nature at this stage of the investigation.

The Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office formally classified Fortune’s death as a homicide in a determination issued Thursday evening—triggering the immediate execution of the warrants police had already secured.

“This case remains active and additional arrests will be pending,” Brackney said, noting investigators have interviewed nearly 15 individuals, gathered forensic evidence, and followed multiple leads.

Christy Spivey, Fortune’s mother, told reporters she broke down in tears upon learning of Ratliff’s arrest and repeatedly thanked law enforcement—but said detectives shared no motive or forensic details, including whether DNA evidence contributed to the breakthrough.

Spivey said she did not recognize Ratliff’s name and was consulting her daughter’s friends to determine if they knew him, adding the family remains in shock and disbelief with few answers still available.

Fortune’s death occurred less than one year after two other high-profile hanging deaths in Mississippi: 21-year-old Delta State University student Trey Reed in Cleveland and Cory Zukatis, a White unhoused man in his 30s in Vicksburg—both officially ruled suicides by state authorities.

Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)