Man pleads not guilty, denied bond for charges in Tasia Fortunes murder

JACKSON, Miss.— The man arrested in the death of Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old Black woman who was found hanging from a tree behind an abandoned Mississippi home last month, was denied bond after pleading not guilty to murder.Wearing a red jumpsuit, Jarques Ratliff, 51, made his first court appearance in Jackson Municipal Court on Monday and was formally charged with murder.

His attorney, Toney Baldwin, argued that Ratliff was not a flight risk and was “gainfully employed,” but Judge Taurean Buchanan ordered him to be held on no bond.A law enforcement official present for the hearing alleged that Ratliff was “a danger to the citizens of Jackson.” Ratliff, whom Jackson police said had an “association” with Fortune, was arrested Friday.

Police Chief RaShall Brackney said more arrests are expected.A motive and Fortune’s cause of death have not been released.Fortune was originally from Kentucky but had been living in Jackson for the last 10 years, according to her obituary.

Her body was found Aug.3.

Her death was classified as a homicide Thursday evening.Brackney said police secured two search warrants and an arrest warrant for Ratliff.She said that investigators served the search warrants on Friday but did not find Ratliff at the location.As officers headed back to headquarters, they encountered him walking down the street and took him into custody.Brackney called the arrest “an important development,” but “it’s not the conclusion.”“This case remains active, and additional arrests will be pending as our investigators continue to follow the evidence wherever it leads,” the chief said.

“Tasia and her children deserve nothing less,” she added.Fortune’s mother, Christy Spivey, told The Associated Press that she cried after learning of the arrest.Spivey said she did not know Ratliff and said the family is “in disbelief” and “still don’t have a lot of answers.”Baldwin said he sympathizes with Fortune’s family but asked tha...