26 July 2026
Christy Spivey, Fortune's mother, told ABC News that she last saw Fortune on 26 July and that Fortune had traveled to Kentucky for a family reunion.
AP, citing ABC News
3 August 2026
Jackson police officers responded to a home in Jackson and discovered a body hanging in the backyard.
AP
5 August 2026
Jackson City Councilman Kenneth Stokes wrote a letter to Mississippi U.S. Attorney Baxter Kruger asking for assistance in the case.
AP
10 August 2026
Hinds County chief medical examiner investigator Jeremiah Howard confirmed the body was Tasia Fortune.
AP
10 August 2026
AP reported that Fortune's body was in the custody of the Mississippi State Medical Examiner's Office, where an autopsy would determine cause and manner of death.
AP
10 August 2026
Jackson police had not indicated whether they considered Fortune's death suspicious and said they were working to determine the circumstances.
AP
10 August 2026
Jackson police had not identified any suspects or persons of interest.
AP
12 August 2026
Jackson Mayor John Horhn said officials were not going to jump to conclusions in the case.
CNN
10 September 2026
Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney said the state medical examiner’s office determined Fortune’s death was a homicide.
AP · added 30 Sep 2026
11 September 2026
Brackney said Jackson police arrested 51-year-old Jarques Ratliff after securing search and arrest warrants; Brackney said Ratliff had an association with Fortune but did not elaborate.
AP · added 30 Sep 2026
12 September 2026
Hinds County jail records stated that Ratliff was charged with murder; the charge is an unproven allegation.
AP · added 30 Sep 2026
14 September 2026
AP reported that Ratliff pleaded not guilty to murder.
AP · added 30 Sep 2026
22 September 2026
Jackson police said they arrested 25-year-old Earnest Lloyd Jr. in Fortune’s death.
AP · added 30 Sep 2026
23 September 2026
Lloyd appeared at a brief hearing and was denied bond.
AP · added 30 Sep 2026
23 September 2026
Police said they had issued an arrest warrant for a third suspect and expected additional warrants.
AP · added 30 Sep 2026
25 September 2026
Jackson police Detective Samuel Dukes testified that Fortune was apparently killed in a drug dispute before her body was hung in a tree in a staged scene; the testimony is an allegation and has not been proven in court.
AP · added 30 Sep 2026
25 September 2026
AP reported that authorities had not disclosed Fortune’s exact cause of death or why they believed her body was hanged afterward.
AP · added 30 Sep 2026
25 September 2026
AP reported that 45-year-old Eric Clark turned himself in after a warrant was issued for his arrest and was charged with murder; the charge is an unproven allegation.
AP · added 30 Sep 2026
28 September 2026
Judge Jeffery Reynolds set Clark’s bond at $5 million at a hearing.
AP · added 30 Sep 2026
30 September 2026
A judge ruled that the case against Jarques Ratliff would go forward; the charge against Ratliff remains an unproven allegation.
CNN · added 8 Nov 2026
30 September 2026
A judge ordered Ratliff to remain jailed until the case goes to a grand jury.
CNN · added 8 Nov 2026
30 September 2026
A detective testified that Fortune was last seen getting into a car with Ratliff, another co-defendant and an unidentified driver; the testimony is an allegation and has not been proven in court.
CNN · added 8 Nov 2026
30 September 2026
A detective testified that Fortune was found wearing shoes believed to belong to Ratliff; the testimony is an allegation and has not been proven in court.
CNN · added 8 Nov 2026