Woman found hanging from a tree in Mississippi. Man in custody

Ua young 29-year-old African-American was found hanging from a tree on August 3, behind a return home in Jackson in the U.S. state of Mississippi. After an investigation, the case was found to be a homicide on Thursday, September 10, and the authorities did not take long to announce the arrest of a 51-year-old man.

Jacques Ratliff, who will be “associated” to the victim, identified as Tasia Fortune, was arrested on Friday afternoon on the public road.

“Today’s detention [Friday] is an important step forward in this investigation, but it is not its end. This case remains open and there will be more arrests as our investigators continue to follow the lead, no matter what direction they take, [...] because Tasia and her children deserve nothing less than that,” Jackson’s police chief, RaShall Brackney-Wheelock, pointed out at a press conference.

The person responsible acknowledged the media interest of the crime, which shook the nation due to its gravity and history of racist violence and lynchings in Mississippi, but refused to advance any kind of motive behind the murder. He just said that the suspect, also he African-American, knew the victim.

“ We understand that this case is being viewed from a broader perspective, a global perspective, and we do not underestimate those concerns. We're taking them seriously. At the same time, we have a responsibility to ensure that what we say publicly is supported by our evidence and facts. We cannot speculate on the nature or the way Fortune was killed, beyond what was officially determined by the medical examiner ", justified.

Christy Spivey, Tasia’s mother, told Associated Press that after learning about the arrest, “she began crying and told them, “thank you, thank you, thank you.” The woman admitted that she did not know Ratliff and realized that the family is “unbelief” and “it does not yet have many answers”.

Fortune was a Kentucky native, but lived in Jackson ten years ago, according to his obituary, quoted by NBC News.

The young woman was described as a “intelligent and talented” woman, leaving four children: Davion, 7 years old, Terence Jr., 5 years old, Tristian, 4 years old, and Donte, 1 year old.