A third individual has been taken into custody regarding the death of 29-year-old Tasia Fortune in Mississippi’s capital, as investigators confirmed the scene where her body was discovered hanging had been deliberately staged.
Eric Clark, 45, turned himself in to authorities on Friday and faces a murder charge, according to the Jackson Police Department (JPD). He was slated for a court appearance on Monday.
On Friday, police revealed that an autopsy investigation concluded “the scene and the hanging were staged.”
Authorities withheld further details regarding the circumstances of Fortune’s killing or the specific evidence leading investigators to believe the scene was fabricated.
Clark’s arrest follows charges against two other men, Earnest Lloyd Jr. and Jarques Ratliff, who were previously charged with murder in connection with Fortune’s death.
The case garnered national attention due to the brutality of Fortune’s killing and Mississippi’s historical legacy of racist violence and lynchings.
Clark, Lloyd Jr., Ratliff, and Fortune were all Black.
“The Jackson Police Department’s robbery-homicide division will continue its investigation until all individuals believed to be involved are held accountable for their actions in connection with Ms. Fortune’s death,” a news release distributed to multiple outlets stated.
Fortune, a mother of four, was found on August 3 hanging from a tree behind a vacant home on the 500 block of Road of Remembrance in western Jackson.
Investigators have stated Fortune was not killed at the location where her body was recovered.
JPD Detective Samuel Dukes previously testified in court that Fortune’s hanging was “staged,” explaining that investigators believe she was killed elsewhere before her body was positioned in the tree on Road of Remembrance. He added that evidence indicated Fortune had been dead for two to three days prior to discovery.
Police have disclosed limited details about the events leading to Fortune’s death. Detectives have interviewed as many as 15 people, according to the department’s release.
Local television station WLBT reported an alleged physical altercation between Lloyd, 25, and Fortune shortly before her death. According to WLBT, police accused Lloyd of using a black cable cord to hang Fortune.
Ratliff and Lloyd have both reportedly entered not-guilty pleas. Both have been denied bond.
Fortune’s mother, Christy Spivey, has maintained she was certain her daughter would not have taken her own life.