Third individual arrested in demise of Tasia Fortune, as police say hanging was staged | Mississippi
A 3rd individual has been arrested within the demise of 29-year-old Tasia Fortune in Mississippi’s capital metropolis, whereas investigators stated that they had decided the scene the place her physique was discovered hanging had been staged.
Eric Clark, 45, surrendered to authorities on Friday and was charged with homicide, based on the Jackson police division (JPD). Clark was scheduled to make a court docket look on Monday.
Police disclosed Friday that an post-mortem investigation concluded “the scene and the hanging had been staged”.
Authorities didn’t launch further details about the circumstances surrounding Fortune’s killing or why investigators imagine the scene was faked.
Clark’s arrest comes after two different males, Earnest Lloyd Jr and Jarques Ratliff, had been charged with murder in reference to Fortune’s demise.
The case resulting in the arrests of Clark, Lloyd Jr and Ratliff had drawn nationwide consideration due to the severity of Fortune’s killing and Mississippi’s historical past of racist violence and lynchings.
Clark, Lloyd Jr, Ratliff are Black, as was Fortune.
“The Jackson police division’s robbery-homicide division will continue its investigation till all people believed to be concerned are held accountable for his or her actions in reference to Ms Fortune’s demise,” a information launch shared with a number of information shops states.
Fortune, a mom of 4, was found on 3 August hanging from a tree behind a vacant house on the five hundred block of Road of Remembrance within the western a part of Jackson.
Investigators have stated Fortune was not killed on the location the place her physique was discovered.
JPD detective Samuel Dukes beforehand described Fortune’s hanging in court docket as “staged”, saying investigators imagine she was killed someplace else earlier than her physique was positioned in a dangling place within the tree on Road of Remembrance. He added investigators decided Fortune had been lifeless for 2 to a few days earlier than her physique was found.
Police have launched few particulars concerning the occasions resulting in Fortune’s demise. Detectives have interviewed as many as 15 folks, based on the police information launch.
Local TV information station WLBT reported an alleged bodily altercation between Lloyd, 25, and Fortune that occurred shortly earlier than her demise. Police accused Lloyd of utilizing a black cable twine to hold Fortune, based on WLBT.
Ratliff and Lloyd have each reportedly pleaded not responsible. Each has been denied bond.
Fortune’s mom, Christy Spivey, has stated she was sure her daughter wouldn’t have killed herself.
