Updated

Updated · NBC News · Aug 10

Police Question 65-Year-Old Terence Anderson After Tasia Fortune, 29, Found Dead in Jackson

Updated

Updated · NBC News · Aug 10

Police Question 65-Year-Old Terence Anderson After Tasia Fortune, 29, Found Dead in Jackson

Q: Why would a person of interest deny a relationship with the victim when his own brother claims they share a child?

There is no verified public explanation yet. Based on the reporting, the simplest answer is that Anderson may have been trying to distance himself from Fortune as detectives questioned him, but that remains speculation unless investigators or court records establish more. The public record shows a conflict in accounts. Detectives said in court that Anderson acknowledged arguing with Fortune but denied being in a relationship with her. Separately, Anderson’s brother told NBC News that the two shared a 5-year-old son. Both statements can exist at once if the relationship was in the past, informal, disputed, or something Anderson chose not to characterize as a current relationship. People questioned in death investigations sometimes minimize or deny ties to a victim for many reasons: to avoid deeper scrutiny, to reduce perceived motive, to conceal personal history, or because they define the relationship differently than family members or police do. A shared child would indicate a significant connection at some point, but it does not by itself prove an ongoing romantic relationship at the time of Fortune’s death. What is firmly established is limited: Fortune was found dead on Aug. 3, the cause and manner of death are still pending autopsy findings, Anderson has not been charged in connection with her death, and police have said the investigation remains active. Until investigators release more evidence, any reason for his denial is not confirmed.

3 articles · Updated · NBC News · Aug 10

Jackson police said 29-year-old Tasia Fortune was found hanging from a tree behind an abandoned home on Aug. 3, and her death remains under active investigation.
Terence Anderson, 65, was identified as a person of interest, questioned by detectives and later taken into custody on an unrelated weapons charge, according to local reports.
Detectives said Anderson denied involvement but told police he had argued with Fortune; his brother said the two shared a 5-year-old son who lived with Anderson.
Fortune’s mother said she last saw her daughter on July 26 at a Kentucky family reunion and does not believe she died by suicide.
The State Medical Examiner’s Office is conducting an autopsy, while a Jackson councilman has asked the U.S. attorney for help as the case draws wider scrutiny.