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Black woman found hanging from tree was dead before body was 'staged', US media reports
BBC • • general
Key Points:
- Police in Mississippi believe that Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old black woman, was already dead before her body was staged hanging from a tree.
- Authorities suspect Fortune was killed in a drug-related dispute, according to a detective's court statement.
- Fortune's body was found in August on the grounds of an abandoned home in Jackson, sparking fears due to the city's history of racial violence and lynchings.
- Multiple arrests have been made, including that of 51-year-old Jarques Ratliff, who pleaded not guilty and remains in custody without bond.
- The medical examiner confirmed the death as a homicide, but officials have not disclosed the exact cause of death or details on why the hanging was staged.
