A Hinds County municipal judge ruled Wednesday that probable cause exists to send to the grand jury the case against Jarques Ratliff in the killing of Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old mother who was found hanging in west Jackson.
Media organizations, including the Clarion Ledger, successfully argued to keep the preliminary hearing open to the public. Judge Lilli Evans Bass had considered closing the hearing in the ongoing investigation.
Wednesday’s proceeding was a continuation of an earlier hearing in which Detective Samuel Dukes of the Jackson Police Department testified that Fortune’s hanging was staged, and she was killed over stolen drugs.
The discovery of Fortune hanging from a tree on Aug. 3 received national attention because of Mississippi’s history of racist violence. She was Black, as are Ratliff and two other men charged with murder in her killing.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Dukes referred to a witness by the pseudonym Jane Doe to protect her identity during the investigation. He said Doe saw Fortune leave with Ratliff and two other men in a car. When the group returned, Fortune was not with them.
Dukes said the witness also told police that Ratliff said Fortune “fought hard.”
The detective testified that when Fortune’s body was found, she was wearing men’s shoes. The shoes are being tested to determine whether they belonged to Ratliff, 51.
Dukes also revealed that documents with Fortune’s name on them were found in Ratliff’s closet, and video footage exists of Fortune before her death.
The judge’s Wednesday ruling means a Hinds County grand jury will determine whether there is enough evidence for Ratliff to be placed on trial on a murder charge.
Fortune’s mother, Christy Spivey, traveled from Kentucky to Mississippi with her husband to attend court proceedings.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, she said she is grateful the proceeding remained open. She also does not believe Fortune stole any drugs.
“Everyone knows that she did not steal,” Spivey said, “that she would hustle and do whatever she needed to do to get money for food, clothes, whatever she needed, or she would call and ask for money.”
Toney Baldwin, Ratliff’s attorney, also spoke to the media.
“We all want to get to the truth, and I think once we get to the truth, my client will be exonerated,” he said.
Ratliff is the first person arrested and charged with murder in Fortune’s death. Earnest Lloyd Jr., 25, and Eric Derrell Clark, 45 have also been charged, and more arrests are expected, police officials have said.
Clark’s bond was set at $5 million. Lloyd and Ratliff were denied bond.
JPD Police Chief RaShall Brackney said Monday that all three suspects had a “known association” with Fortune.
At Clark’s initial appearance, Jackson Municipal Court Judge Jeffery Reynolds called the staged hanging “an extremely heinous act” that “invoked the terrible history of our state.”
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