3rd suspect charged with murder in death of Tasia Fortune, who was found hanging

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Zaru, D. (2026, September 28). 3rd suspect charged with murder in death of Tasia Fortune, who was found hanging. ABC News (US). https://abcnews.com/US/3rd-suspect-charged-murder-death-tasia-fortune-found/story?id=136821449

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Quick Summary

A third suspect, Eric Clark, aged 45, was charged with murder for the death of Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old Black mother of four. Fortune’s body was found hanging from a tree behind an abandoned home in Jackson, Mississippi, on August 3. This arrest follows charges against Earnest Lloyd Jr., 25, and Jarques Ratliff, 51, earlier this month. Police suspect the death stemmed from a drug dispute and that the scene of Fortune’s body was staged with a black cable cord used for hanging her.

Written by AI on 2026-09-28, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In Jackson, Mississippi, police arrested a second man, 25-year-old Earnest Lloyd Jr., on charges related to the death of Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old Black woman found hanging from a tree behind an abandoned home in the city on August 3. This arrest follows the detention of 51-year-old Jarques Ratliff earlier this month, who also faces murder charges and remains jailed without bond despite pleading not guilty. Police have issued an arrest warrant for a third suspect but haven't provided details about them or their connection to Fortune's death.

The case has drawn significant national attention due to Mississippi’s history of racial violence and the resemblance of the hanging to historical lynchings in the state, which had more public lynchings than any other U.S. state between 1882 and 1968, according to the NAACP. A detective testified that Fortune's death was likely staged, with her body being placed in a position after she had already died from another cause, possibly linked to a drug dispute. The motive for her murder remains undisclosed, but the arrests have brought some closure to Fortune’s family and friends, despite lingering questions about the full circumstances of her death.

Written for “Tasia Fortune Staged Hanging Investig…” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 17 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Tasia Fortune Staged Hanging Investig…

Crime & Law · 18 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 24% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Third suspect arrested in death of Mississippi woman found hanging from tree at staged crime scene Same event

NBC News

Hedges 2 of 12 claims Outlet record 60/100

Third person arrested in death of Tasia Fortune, as police say hanging was staged Same event

The Guardian

Hedges 4 of 19 claims Outlet record 66/100

Jackson woman’s hanging was ‘part of a staging’ after death, police say Same event

Global News

Hedges 3 of 26 claims Outlet record 63/100

Shocking revelation in Mississippi Black woman's death: Tasia Fortune was killed before body was hung from tree, police say; drug dispute suspected Different event

Times of India

Hedges 3 of 24 claims Outlet record 59/100

“Article A describes the initial revelation that Tasia Fortune was killed before her body was hung from a tree, while Article B reports on the arrest of a third suspect in connection with her death.”

Black woman found hanging from tree was dead before body was 'staged', US media reports Different event

BBC News

⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 15 claims Outlet record 68/100

“Article A describes the initial discovery and investigation of Tasia Fortune's body hanging from a tree, while Article B reports on a later development with the arrest of a third suspect in connection to her death.”

Police make 2nd arrest in death of Tasia Fortune,found hanging from tree Different event

CBS News

Hedges 1 of 23 claims Outlet record 66/100

“The articles describe different stages of the investigation into Tasia Fortune's death; Article A reports a second arrest while Article B reports a third arrest.”

Second man arrested in death of Mississippi woman Tasia Fortune Different event

NBC News

Hedges 2 of 18 claims Outlet record 60/100

“Article A reports on the arrest of a second man while Article B discusses the charging and impending court appearance of a third suspect, indicating they are reporting different stages of the investigation.”

Police believe Tasia Fortune’s hanging was staged as new details revealed in court Different event

NBC News

Hedges 5 of 17 claims Outlet record 60/100

“Article A discusses details revealed during a court hearing for one of the original suspects arrested, while Article B reports on the arrest and charging of a third suspect.”

Hanging of Black woman found after drug dispute was ‘staged’ following death, Mississippi police say Different event

New York Post

⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 14 claims Outlet record 66/100

“While both articles discuss Tasia Fortune's death and the hanging of her body, ARTICLE A focuses on the initial investigation concluding the hanging was staged after she had already died, whereas ARTICLE B reports a later development with the charging of a third suspect. These are two different phases in the ongoing case.”

Tasia Fortune's hanging was 'staged' after her death in a drug dispute, Mississippi police say Different event

Toronto Star

Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 64/100

“While both articles discuss Tasia Fortune's death and hanging, Article A describes the testimony about how her death was staged in a drug dispute, whereas Article B reports on the arrest of a third suspect charged with murder related to her death.”

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sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

24%

5 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

70/100

ABC News (US)'s corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

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Crime & Law

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articles that frame the event the way this one does

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Who wrote this

Deena Zaru

5 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 Mayor Kohen was fatally shot during an alleged shoplifting pursuit in June.

2026-10-24 · assertive framing · Mississippi officer who fatally shot 1-year-old resigns

🔮 Crump argued that the officer could have moved out of the way instead of shooting and called for a federal investigation into the incident. What happened to Kohen Wiley Officers who responded to a shoplifting call on June 14 at the Walmart in Senatobia encountered two adults allegedly fleeing from the store with a child and running into a vehicle, according to MBI. MBI released a redacted report on Thursday outlining its investigation.

2026-10-23 · assertive framing · Bodycam footage released in police shooting of Miss. 1-year-old as family speaks out

🔮 We would like to thank everyone for their prayers and support and are grateful for the silence to be broken but we also want to say that we wish for people to have patience and wait for the rest of the facts to come out before jumping to conclusions," Fortune's family said in a statement Monday following Ratliffe's arrest.

2026-09-28 · mixed framing · 3rd suspect charged with murder in death of Tasia Fortune, who was found hanging

🔮 But for others, the budgeting agony “could bring somebody to the point of depression, and it could bring somebody to a mental collapse, especially when they have kids.”

2026-09-16 · assertive framing · 'How are we gonna get through this?' Many Americans are struggling as prices rise

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Narrative

Claims (21 extracted, 5 hedged)

3rd suspect charged with murder in death of Tasia Fortune, who was found hanging from a tree asserted

who → charge → tree

Fortune's body was found hanging from a tree behind a vacant home in Jackson. asserted

body → find → Jackson

A third suspect was arrested on murder charges in the death of Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old Black mother of four whose body was found hanging from a tree behind an apparently vacant Jackson, Mississippi, home on Aug. 3. asserted

body → arrest → Aug.

Police arrested Eric Clark, a 45-year-old Black man, on murder charges in Fortune's death on Friday, the Jackson Police Department announced. asserted

Department → arrest → Friday

Clark is scheduled to appear in court on Monday, police said. asserted

police → schedule → Monday

It is unclear if he has retained an attorney. uncertain

he → retain → attorney

Clark's arrest came after two other Black men were arrested earlier this month and charged with murder in this case. asserted

men → come → case

During a hearing on Sept. 23, bond was denied for Earnest Lloyd Jr., 25, one of the suspects, according to ABC affiliate station WAPT in Jackson. uncertain

bond → deny → Jackson

It is unclear if he has retained an attorney in his case. uncertain

he → retain → case

Jarques Ratliff, 51, was arrested on Sept. 11 and charged with murder. asserted

Ratliff → arrest → murder

According to an affidavit, Ratliff is accused of using a black cable cord to hang Fortune from a tree, WAPT reported. uncertain

WAPT → accord → tree

Ratliff pleaded not guilty during a hearing on Sept. 14, where he was also denied bond. asserted

he → plead → bond

According to The Associated Press, police disclosed during a pre-trial hearing for Ratliff on Friday that Fortune was killed in a drug dispute before her body was hung in a tree in a "staged" scene. uncertain

body → accord → scene

Asked by ABC News to confirm this detail, a spokesperson for the Jackson Police Department did not respond to requests for comment. asserted

spokesperson → ask → comment

Ratliff's attorney, Toney Baldwin, confirmed his client's not guilty plea to ABC News, but did not comment on the charges. asserted

attorney → confirm → charges

Following Ratliff's arrest, Fortune's family told ABC News in a statement that they are "grateful" for the arrest, and called for "patience" from the public as the investigation takes its course. " asserted

investigation → follow → course

We would like to thank everyone for their prayers and support and are grateful for the silence to be broken but we also want to say that we wish for people to have patience and wait for the rest of the facts to come out before jumping to conclusions," Fortune's family said in a statement Monday following Ratliffe's arrest. asserted

family → like → arrest

"We are hoping soon we will have more answers." asserted

we → hop → answers

Christy Spivey, Fortune's mother, told ABC News in an interview on Aug. 8 that her daughter's death has "devastated" the family. asserted

death → tell → family

"This has just devastated us," she said. asserted

she → devastate → us

"Tasia was strong-minded, she was full of laughs and love, she had faith in God ... she had so little and gave so much." asserted

she → have → much

3rd suspect charged with murder in death of Tasia Fortune, who was found hanging

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Claims (21 extracted, 5 hedged)