Third Suspect Arrested In Tasia Fortune eliminateing As…
New arrests and allegations have been made during the investigation into the disturbing death of Tasia Fortune. Authorities now say the 29-year-old mom of 4 was killed elsewhere before her physique was intentionally hung from a tree in a “staged” scene.
Source: Etta Avolio / GoFundMe
Three males now face homicide fees in connection with Fortune’s death after her physique was found Aug. 3 behind a vacant home in Jackson, Mississippi.
Third Suspect Turns Himself In As Police Investigation Continues
According to People, the Jackson Police Department announced Sept. 25 that Eric Clark, 45, grew to become the third particular person charged with homicide in connection with Fortune’s death after he turned himself in. His initial court look is scheduled for Sept. 28.
“The Jackson Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division will continue its investigation until all individuals believed to be involved are held accountable for their actions in connection with Ms. Fortune’s death,” police said in a news release obtained by People.
Clark’s arrest follows homicide fees against Earnest Lloyd Jr., 25, and Jarques “Jock” Ratliff, 51. According to People, police arrested Ratliff on Sept. 11, while Lloyd was taken into custody days before Clark.
Previously reported by BOSSIP, the medical examiner’s workplace decided Fortune’s death was a murder and said the scene where her physique was found appeared “staged.”
Police consider the killing could have stemmed from a drug dispute as investigators continue working to decide the circumstances surrounding Fortune’s death.
Detective Says Fortune Was eliminateed Elsewhere Before ‘Staged’ Hanging
In HuffPost, Jackson Police Department Detective Samuel Dukes testified during an evidentiary listening to that investigators consider Fortune was killed in a different location following a dispute involving “missing illegal narcotics.”
Dukes also testified that authorities consider Fortune had been useless for two to three days before her physique was found.
HuffPost cited WLBT, stating investigators consider Lloyd used a black cable wire to cling Fortune’s physique from the tree behind the Jackson home where she was ultimately discovered.
According to HuffPost, citing the Mississippi Clarion Ledger, reported that Dukes testified that Fortune and Ratliff have been pals who have been “intimate with each other.”
Ratliff’s attorney, Toney Baldwin, has maintained his shopper’s innocence.
“My client said he’s not involved and that’s absolutely what I believe,” Baldwin said, according to HuffPost.
Baldwin also said he needs the “truth about what happened to come out.”
Fortune’s mom, Christy Spivey, expressed concern about the arrests following the listening to.
“I just hope they have the right people,” Spivey said, according to HuffPost.
Fortune’s aunt, Etta Avolio, remembered her niece in an ongoing GoFundMe marketing campaign as a “strong-minded, big-hearted, vibrant young woman.”
“The family also wants others to know that justice will be served, and they hold firmly to their faith, believing that God is on their side as they walk through this heartbreaking loss,” Avolio wrote, according to HuffPost.
Police Initially Stopped Short Of Saying Fortune Died By Hanging
Previously reported by NewsOne, Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney announced during a Jackson City Council assembly that Lloyd had been arrested and charged with homicide for his alleged position in Fortune’s death.
At the time, police have been still looking out for a third suspect and had turned an arrest warrant over to the U.S. Marshals for service. That third suspect was later recognized as Clark.
Brackney was notably cautious about how police characterised Fortune’s death while the investigation remained lively.
“Tasia Fortune was found in a hanging position, and I need to stay with that language to not jeopardize this case,” Brackney said, according to NewsOne, citing WLBT.
NewsOne also reviews that another man, described as an alleged former boyfriend, had beforehand been recognized as a particular person of curiosity. According to the outlet, citing WLBT, the person was arrested days after Fortune’s physique was found on an unrelated felon-in-possession-of-a-firearm charge but had not been charged in her death.
Detectives said the person admitted arguing with Fortune but denied involvement in her death, according to NewsOne. Police said the 2 had been in a relationship, which the person denied.
In NewsOne, Fortune’s mom told GWN that she last noticed her daughter July 26 during a household reunion in Kentucky.
“She did not do this to herself,” Spivey said.
Fortune’s death drew national consideration as photographs of a Black girl discovered hanging from a tree evoked the nation’s historical past of racial terror and lynching, notably in Mississippi. NewsOne cites NBC and NAACP figures displaying 581 recorded lynchings in Mississippi between 1882 and 1968.
The investigation stays ongoing, and the homicide fees against Clark, Lloyd and Ratliff are allegations. Ratliff has pleaded not guilty.
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