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Fortune was Black, and the Aug. 3 discovery of her hanging body
stoked fear and drew widespread attention because the scene
recalled actual lynchings in the Southern state, which has a
long and troubled history of racial violence.
Authorities haven’t disclosed the exact cause of Fortune’s death
or said why they think her body was hanged afterward, but they
ruled it a homicide and arrested two men, both of them also
Black, on murder charges. A 45-year-old man turned himself in
Friday after a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was charged
with murder and will appear in court Monday.
Outside court, Fortune’s mother, Christy Spivey, told reporters
that she had been aware that her daughter died before her body
was hanged. But that step, she added, “brought all the attention
to it.”
“What bothered me was they said Tasia fought for her life. I
know she did. I know my daughter,” Spivey said.
The hearing was meant to determine whether there is sufficient
evidence to send the case against the first man arrested,
Jarques Ratliff, to a grand jury for a possible indictment. It
will resume Sept. 30.
Ratliff, 51, was arrested in mid-September and has pleaded not
guilty. He remains jailed without bond. Police arrested a second
defendant, 25-year-old Earnest Lloyd Jr., this week.
During Friday's hearing, Ratliff blurted out in court that he
and Fortune were friends.
“It sounded sincere. Tasia had a lot of friends,” Spivey said
later. “I hope if he is innocent that he can prove he’s
innocent. We don’t want any innocent people going to jail.”
Ratliff’s stepdaughter, Lashuna Jones, was among her father's
supporters at court.
“He didn’t do it, and I’m behind him,” she said.
Spivey has said her daughter, who had four children, struggled
with homelessness in recent years, and that she wasn’t sure
where Fortune was living at the time of her death. She said
Fortune had talked about starting a cleaning business and was
trying to get her life in order.
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White reported from Detroit.
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