Arrest made in Mississippi case of black woman found hanged from tree

Police in Jackson, Mississippi have announced the first arrest in connection with the death of Tasia Fortune, a black woman whose body was discovered in August in the lot of an abandoned home, hanged from a tree. Investigators only began treating the case as a possible homicide earlier this week.

Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney said on Friday that the medical examiner had confirmed Fortune's death was a homicide, and that the arrested man would be charged with murder. She added that further arrests could follow as investigators continue gathering evidence, noting that 15 people have already been interviewed in connection with the case.

Brackney stressed that the investigation remains active and that Friday's arrest is not the case's conclusion. Fortune's mother, Christy Spivey, told the BBC she cried upon hearing about the arrest, describing a small sense of relief, while adding hope that police had detained the right person.

Before the arrest, Spivey and other Jackson residents had criticised what they described as silence and slow action from local officials; Spivey said she had left multiple unanswered voicemails for police over recent weeks. Brackney countered that authorities had remained in constant contact with Fortune's mother, stepfather and biological father throughout the investigation. A letter Spivey wrote about the lack of communication was read at a public city meeting the same day police announced the possible homicide.

Jackson is a majority-black city in a state with a long history of racial violence and lynching, and Fortune's death has left many residents shaken. A member of the US Congress described the death as part of a pattern of possible "modern-day lynchings." This week, more than 50 members of Congress sent a letter to the FBI and the Department of Justice expressing alarm over reports of black people found hanged from trees across several states, calling for an independent investigation. They cited at least 10 such reported hangings so far this year, and more than 70 documented lynchings between 2000 and 2025.