Jarques Ratliff, a 51-year-old man charged with murder in the death of 29-year-old Tasia Fortune, is expected to make his first appearance in Jackson Municipal Court Monday (September 14), CNN reported.
Ratliff was charged Friday (September 11), after the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Fortune’s death a homicide on Thursday (September 10).
Fortune was found hanging from a tree outside an abandoned house in Jackson on August 3. Her body was in “various states of decomposition,” according to Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney.
Authorities have not disclosed exactly how Fortune was killed.
Brackney emphasized that police have been cautious about discussing the circumstances of Fortune’s death.
“We don’t want to speculate, and we don’t want to add fuel to the fire of these incidents in which other people have said that she was found hung,” Brackney told CNN Saturday (September 12).
Investigators have interviewed nearly 15 people connected to the case and collected forensic evidence, including fibers. They are also examining the position of tree limbs as they work to determine what happened to Fortune, CNN reported.
Brackney said Ratliff had an “association” with Fortune, but police have not disclosed the nature of their relationship. She said more details about their connection are expected to become clearer during the court proceedings.
Ratliff is a different man from Terence Anderson, whom police previously interviewed about Fortune’s death. Anderson was arrested in August on an unrelated charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and has not been charged in Fortune’s death, according to previous BIN reporting.
Police have said the investigation remains active and that additional arrests are expected.
The Black Information Network is your source for Black News! Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HERE to tune in live.