Jackson Police Arrest Jacque Ratliff in 29-Year-Old Tasia Fortune Homicide

Q: What hidden forensic evidence finally forced medical examiners to rule Tasia Fortune's tragic hanging a homicide?

It has not been publicly disclosed. The reporting says only that medical examiners officially ruled Tasia Fortune’s death a homicide on Thursday night, but authorities have not released the specific forensic finding that prompted that determination. What is public is limited: Fortune was found hanging from a tree behind a home off Road of Remembrance on Aug. 3; Jackson police said they had treated the case as a homicide investigation from the start while awaiting the medical examiner’s ruling; and after that ruling, police obtained search warrants and an arrest warrant for Jacques Ratliff, who was later arrested. Neither the police chief’s statement nor the related reporting identifies any “hidden” forensic evidence such as DNA, ligature analysis, trauma findings, toxicology, or signs of a staged scene. Investigators have interviewed about 15 people and said more arrests are expected, but the exact autopsy or forensic details remain undisclosed. So the accurate answer is that the evidence forcing the homicide ruling has not yet been made public by officials.

3 articles · Updated · WAPT Jackson · Sep 11

Thursday’s homicide ruling by the medical examiner triggered warrants for Jacque Ratliff, whom Jackson police arrested Friday on Capitol Street without incident.
Police said Tasia Fortune, 29, was found hanging behind a vacant house on Road of Remembrance in early August, but authorities still have not released her cause of death.
Chief RaShall Brackney said Ratliff was not at the home when officers served search warrants Friday morning, and additional arrests are expected.
The arrest follows days of public pressure over the case after Fortune’s mother told the Jackson City Council she had received few answers and believed her daughter was not suicidal.