The Jackson Police Department arrested a 51-year-old man on Friday in the killing of Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old Black woman who in August was found hanging from a tree next to a vacant home in west Jackson.
Jarques Ratliff was arrested after the medical examiner’s office classified Fortune’s death as a homicide on Thursday night and police then secured two search warrants, Chief RaShall Brackney said during a news conference Friday.
Fortune’s family was immediately notified of Ratliff’s arrest, Brackney said. She said additional arrests are coming. The case has garnered national attention because the manner in which Fortune was discovered evoked memories of the South’s history of lynching.
“This is not closure,” Brackney said. “This is just one step as we continue to investigate this case.”
Brackney said that Fortune knew Ratliff but she would not elaborate on the nature of their relationship. She said officers arrested him on Friday afternoon after they saw him walking along Capitol Street, a road in west Jackson close to the 500 block of Road of Remembrance, where Fortune was found.
“We understand the questions and desires for answers given Mississippi’s history,” Brackney said. “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. At the same time, we do have a responsibility to make sure that what we say publicly is supported by our evidence and facts.”
Jackson Police Department Chief RaShall Brackney meets with a security technology company in a photo the police department posted to its official Facebook page on Friday, May 29, 2026. Credit: Jackson Police Department's official Facebook pageThe police chief urged people to be patient while the investigation remains active. Brackney touted the department’s work. She said investigators interviewed nearly 15 people but couldn’t execute any warrants until the medical examiner’s office ruled Fortune’s death a homicide.
As of Friday afternoon, Ratliff’s name did not appear in the Hinds County jail log. JPD Public Information Officer Tommie Brown said Ratliff had a Jackson address. It was not immediately clear whether Ratliff is represented by an attorney.
Earlier this week, Brackney told the Jackson City Council that Fortune’s autopsy was completed four weeks ago but JPD had not received it. Her comments came in response to Ward 3 Councilmember Kenneth Stokes and a letter from Fortune’s mother.
In August, Hinds County Coroner Jeremiah Howard identified Fortune as the victim. She was a Kentucky native who ran away from home at 16 with someone she had met in foster care, her family told Mississippi Today.
Fortune’s family said they didn’t know much about her life in Jackson but understood Fortune was struggling with addiction and was often destitute.
A makeshift memorial has risen at the house where Fortune was found – a small mound of flowers, balloons, teddy bears and pinwheels surrounding a framed picture of her.
Fortune was the mother of four children.
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