Key Facts

• Tasia Fortune’s body was found hanging from a tree behind an abandoned home on August 3.
• Investigators say the hanging was staged after she had died.
• The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide but has not shared the exact cause of death.
• Two men, Jarques Ratliff and Earnest Lloyd Jr., have been arrested and charged with murder; a third person is wanted.
• Police say the killing appears to have resulted from a disagreement over drugs.
• Ratliff has pleaded not guilty and is in jail without bond.
• Fortune’s mother said her daughter struggled with homelessness but wanted to start a cleaning business.
• The case has drawn attention due to the image of a Black woman hanging, recalling historical racial violence in the South.