Investigators say Tasia Fortune was killed elsewhere and her body was placed in a hanging position in a Jackson tree; they believe she had been dead two to three days before discovery Aug. 3. Jarques Ratliff, Earnest Lloyd Jr. and Eric Clark were arrested in the case.
Details of investigators' staging theory emerged at a court hearing for Ratliff. Lloyd was arrested Sept. 22, and Clark turned himself in Sept. 25. Ratliff's attorney, Toney Baldwin, said his client was not involved and wanted the truth about what happened to emerge.
Investigators said missing illegal narcotics were central to the crime, amid allegations that Fortune had taken them. Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney acknowledged concerns over Fortune's death by hanging and Mississippi's history of racial violence, saying officials were taking those concerns seriously. Brackney said the investigation was not over.
