Investigators testified they believe the hanging was staged and that Fortune may have been killed during a drug dispute.
A third man charged in connection with the death of Tasia Fortune, a Black woman found hanging from a tree in Mississippi in August, was given a $5 million bond Monday.
Eric Clark, 45, turned himself in Friday and was charged with murder, according to WJTV in Jackson.
The state medical examiner’s office ruled Fortune’s death a homicide earlier this month, though officials have not disclosed her cause of death. Det. Samuel Dukes of the Jackson Police Department said Friday that the medical examiner determined Fortune, 29, was already dead when her body was hanged.
Eric Clark arrested in connection to the hanging of 29-year-old Black woman Tasia Fortune (Jackson Police Department)During a preliminary hearing for Jarques Ratliff, the first suspect arrested, investigators testified they believe the hanging was staged and that Fortune may have been killed during a drug dispute. Dukes said witness interviews indicated she fought for her life before she was killed.
Ratliff has pleaded not guilty and remains in the Hinds County jail without bond. Earnest Lloyd Jr., 25, was also charged with murder in connection with Fortune’s death and was denied bond.
A hearing scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 30, will determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence to present the case to a grand jury.
Fortune’s body was found Aug. 3. She was a mother of four who had struggled with homelessness in recent years but had been trying to rebuild her life and hoped to start a cleaning business, her mother, Christy Spivey, said.
The killing drew national attention because the scene evoked Mississippi’s history of racist lynchings. Fortune, Ratliff and Lloyd are Black; authorities have not said whether race played a role.
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Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.
