JACKSON, MS — Mississippi police have charged a 51-year-old Jackson man with murder in connection with the death of Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old woman whose body was discovered behind an abandoned home last month, and the city’s police chief warned Friday that additional arrests are expected as the investigation continues.
The case drew international attention after Fortune’s body was found Aug. 3 in Jackson, and weeks passed before medical examiners formally ruled her death a homicide. That ruling, delivered Thursday evening by the state medical examiner’s office, enabled investigators to move quickly — securing search warrants and an arrest warrant within hours. Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney announced the arrest Friday afternoon, calling it a significant but incomplete step toward justice. Fortune’s mother, Christy Spivey, wept when police delivered the news. Her family, still searching for answers about what happened, is pressing authorities for more information about a motive and potential additional suspects.
Police arrested Jarques Ratliff, 51, a Jackson resident, after officers encountered him walking on a public street Friday afternoon, authorities said. Ratliff was booked into the Hinds County jail on a murder charge, according to jail records confirmed Saturday. Brackney said Ratliff had an “association” with Fortune but declined to elaborate on the nature of their relationship or whether DNA evidence played a role in identifying him as a suspect. Ratliff was expected to appear in Jackson Municipal Court no later than Monday morning, according to André de Gruy, Mississippi’s state public defender. As of Saturday, it could not be immediately determined whether Ratliff had retained private legal representation. A message was left for the public defender’s office; de Gruy confirmed that if Ratliff qualifies for a public defender, it would be the Hinds County public defender’s office handling the case. Jail records listed Ratliff as a Jackson resident but contained little additional identifying information.
Brackney, speaking at a press briefing Friday, was careful to frame the arrest as a milestone rather than a resolution. “That arrest today is an important development in this investigation, but it is not the conclusion,” Brackney said. “This case remains active, and additional arrests will be pending as our investigators continue to follow the evidence wherever it leads.” The police chief also acknowledged that Fortune’s death had been viewed through a broader historical lens given Mississippi’s history of racial violence. “We understand this case is being viewed through a broader lens, a global lens, and we do not dismiss those concerns. We are taking them seriously,” Brackney said. “At the same time, we do have a responsibility to make sure that what we say publicly is supported by our evidence and facts.” Police did not respond to follow-up calls and messages Saturday about further developments beyond confirming the investigation remained active.
Fortune’s body was found Aug. 3 behind a vacant home in Jackson. The state medical examiner conducted an autopsy, but nearly a month passed before the office formally classified her death as a homicide — a delay that generated widespread concern and media coverage from across the country and abroad. Brackney confirmed that Fortune’s body was found in various stages of decomposition when it was discovered and that investigators had been waiting on the medical examiner’s official determination before executing the warrants they already had prepared. Once that classification came through Thursday evening, investigators moved to arrest Ratliff within hours. Fortune had lived in Jackson for approximately 10 years, according to her obituary published by Tucker Funeral Home in Central City, Kentucky. She had roots in Crittenden County, Kentucky, where her parents — a mixed-race couple — faced racism and violence before she was born, according to Spivey. As a child, Fortune was removed from her parents’ care and placed in foster care. During high school, she moved among group homes before eventually running away to Mississippi.
Ratliff is scheduled to make his first court appearance in Jackson Municipal Court no later than Monday, de Gruy said. The investigation remains open, with Brackney explicitly stating that more arrests are forthcoming as detectives follow the evidence. Police have not publicly named any additional suspects or described how many people may ultimately face charges. Fortune’s mother said police did not share a motive with the family when informing them of Ratliff’s arrest, nor did they confirm whether DNA evidence was a factor. Spivey said she did not recognize Ratliff’s name and was reaching out to her daughter’s friends to learn whether any of them knew him. The broader investigation will likely continue for weeks as forensic and witness evidence is reviewed, though investigators have not set a public timeline for when additional charges might be announced.
Spivey, speaking Friday from Kentucky, described her reaction to learning of the arrest in raw terms. “I just started crying and told them, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you,'” she said. Despite that relief, she made clear her family still feels unsettled. “We still don’t have a lot of answers,” Spivey said, adding that the family remained in “disbelief” and “shock.” She was firm in rejecting any suggestion that her daughter took her own life. “Absolutely not. Even if she could climb that tree, no, no, she would never, ever, ever,” Spivey said. The last time Spivey saw her daughter was in late July, when a planned family reunion in Kentucky was canceled — but Fortune showed up anyway to see her mother. “When she was there, there was this pull, like a spiritual pull to her. I needed her. I guess God knew that was going to be it,” Spivey said. She closed with a message she hopes the public will carry forward: “Say her name. Keep it going. Because I’m not going to stop until I get answers.”
Those who knew Fortune described a woman of resilience and deep faith who was working to rebuild her life at the time of her death. Her obituary noted that she had been a star cross-country runner who skipped her junior year of high school — a mark of her academic drive — and that her Christian faith remained a defining part of her identity. “She leaves behind a powerful legacy of resilience, rooted deeply in her unwavering faith. Even in her darkest hours, she never stopped believing in her Savior,” the obituary stated. Fortune was the mother of four children, though she rarely saw two of them, Spivey said. In her final months, she had been dealing with homelessness in Jackson and had been discussing plans to start a cleaning business. She had two sisters with whom she remained close. Spivey said the father of one of Fortune’s children had been both verbally and physically abusive toward her daughter. Funeral services were held last month in Kentucky, where Fortune had family ties.
As of Saturday, Ratliff remained in custody at the Hinds County jail, with his first court appearance expected no later than Monday morning in Jackson Municipal Court. The Jackson Police Department confirmed the investigation is ongoing, and Chief Brackney’s explicit promise of additional arrests means the case is far from closed. Fortune’s family says they will continue pushing for answers about motive, about anyone else who may be held accountable, and about what led to the death of a woman who, by every account, was trying to move her life forward.
