A Dead Body Grabbed Mistakenly: Mississippi Tree Tragedy

Sun Sep 27 2026 03:40:50 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Police say the 29‑year‑old black woman in Mississippi was already dead before her body was staged in a tree. Full story in 60 seconds.

In Jackson, Mississippi, authorities found a 29‑year‑old woman's body hanging from a tree. Detectives revealed she had been dead before the scene was set up, sparking fears amid the city’s history of racial violence. Three suspects have been arrested, all black, while the investigation looks into drug-related motives. The case has added to a growing list of alleged staged hanging deaths affecting the black community in the United States.

⚠️ Story Alert: This article contains distressing content.

Police in Mississippi announced that the 29‑year‑old black woman, Tasia Fortune, was already dead before her body was found hanging from a tree in an abandoned house in Jackson.

Detective Kevin Smith told a courtroom on Friday that the hanging was “staged” after an alleged drug dispute, and that the medical examiner ruled the death a homicide.

Fortune’s mother, Christy Spivey, said police told her the body “was not a real hanging.” Spivey, who has four children left behind, urged authorities to find the right people instead of innocent ones.

Three people are now in custody: Jarques Ratliff (51, pleading not guilty), Earnest Lloyd Jr (25), and Eric Clark (45) who has turned himself in. All three are black.

This case joins a growing list of black‑person hanging deaths that lawmakers want the DOJ and FBI to investigate. Representative Ayanna Pressley has highlighted over ten documented cases across the country.

The story highlights how past injustices can shape the present, sparking calls for a thorough and fair probe.