September 13, 2026 • 18 mins
One month after 29-year-old Tasia Fortune was found hanging from a tree in Jackson Mississippi, police arrested a man they say is responsible for Fortune’s death and say more arrests are expected. It wasn’t until late last week that the state medical examiner finally ruled Fortune’s death a homicide, her family had insisted from the very beginning the young mother of four would never take her own life, especially in that manner. 51-year-old Jacques Ratliff is expected in court on Monday, where we hope to get more answers into the horrific death that has garnered international headlines.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey there, folks. It is Sunday, September 13th, and a
woman found hanging from a tree in Mississippi. Her family
knew there was no way she killed herself. And now
authorities finally are agreeing with the family. And with that,
welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ Robes. This
(00:22):
is a major development, a major story that had major
implications nationally. But an arrest has finally been made. Robes,
I say finally. They finally even said that this woman
died by a homicide. So it took a while to
get to that.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
It took them nearly a month.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Actually, it took them a month to come to that conclusion.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
And you know what?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
I'm curious how you feel about it because when I
finally saw the headlines that an arrest had been made
in the hanging death of 29-year-old Tasia Fortune, I actually
felt my shoulders relax. Obviously, it's horrific and awful, but
to think that another woman hanging of a black person
in Mississippi was going to be ruled a suicide was
(01:02):
so deeply alarming. It actually just felt like relief that
it was investigated to the point where, yes, they were
determining that it was a homicide and that they found
at least one person responsible.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
And you know what? I saw others reporting and they
thought it was worth noting and they put it in there.
The person they arrested is a black man. Yep. They
arrested a black guy for the death of a black
woman who was hanging from a tree in Mississippi. Try
to make sense of all of that. But it was
last month, Tasia Fortune, Robes, and her picture was everywhere.
29-year-old young lady, mother of four. And Robes, this is Mississippi.
(01:38):
We've got to remember, right? So a woman, 29-year-old woman,
woman of faith, mother of four, hanging from a tree,
decided to kill herself. we know what the story was
initially and how people were taking this initially. Even Bernice
King got involved initially. People just making comments, hey, we
need to wait, but come on, Mississippi. What are we doing? Yes.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
And she was found hanging from a tree in one
of the most horrific scenes. It looked like something out
of a horror movie. It was an abandoned building and
this tree in the backyard. It was truly like You
couldn't believe this actually took place in real life. It
was that disturbing of just a setting and clearly, obviously,
(02:23):
the way she was found. But we still don't know
how she died.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
No, Robes, and it's an odd way for someone to
kill themselves, right? A public display like that. And for
a black person to choose to do that in Mississippi...
It just didn't make.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
A whole lot of sense.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
It doesn't make any sense whatsoever.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
And it also, baby, doesn't make sense for the person
they say killed her to also do this to her.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
A black man.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
What was the point of this display? Don't you want
to hide the crime? Or is he trying to push
people away from him by suggesting, oh, people will think
this is some racist stuff. They'll never look at me.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
I had the same thought because any other time you
see someone murder someone else, they hide the body. They
try to keep the body out of public view. They
don't want authorities to find the body because the longer
it takes for someone to find someone who's missing, the
better chance you have of getting away with it because
forensic evidence deteriorates. So to choose, and for a black
(03:29):
man to choose to display evidence The person he just killed,
a black woman from a tree in Mississippi, is beyond puzzling.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
So we're puzzled there, but Robes, it didn't help. Because
as we sit here, Robes, on this Sunday, September the 13th,
she was found August 3rd, so a full month ago.
And in that time, Robes, until recent days, police didn't
say a whole lot, including whether or not they thought
she died by suicide or homicide.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Right. So what changed, it was late last week that
the medical examiner finally acknowledged publicly that they had ruled
Tayshia's death a homicide. And it was then that they
were able to, I guess, get some arrest warrants or
some sort of search warrants. It allowed the investigation to
(04:20):
proceed that led to an arrest.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
But why wait so long?
Speaker 3 (04:24):
And because they wouldn't release Tayshia, The manner of death,
just that it was a homicide, there's just, there are
so many questions that police are going to have to
answer at some point and sooner rather than later.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
I would love to hear Robes. It happened immediately. Emmy
said she was, it was a homicide on Thursday. They
had an arrest on Friday. Like it almost seemed, I'm sorry,
easy to solve the crime. After they said she died
by homicide, was there no, like what was so evidentiary
in that autopsy that led them within 24 hours to
(04:59):
this guy? What was that? I'm very curious. They have
not said how she died. They have not given us
a motive. And Rob, they're even telling us, they're even vague.
About the relationship she had with this guy.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
So his name is 51-year-old Jacques Ratliff.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
And he looks like he's lived a hard life based
on the mugshots that have been released. But the only
connection that we have been told officially by police is
that he had an an association.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
With her and that's it.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
And we've heard, and we'll get into it, but from
some of the family members, her mom has been very
outspoken throughout all of this, but no one knows who
this man is. It's not someone familiar to the family.
It's not someone familiar to friends. So this isn't anyone
that at least those who knew her and loved her
were aware of. And early on, we did a story
(05:51):
on this, obviously when this happened, as shocking as it was,
there was some suggestion that a former father of one
of her children who lived on the street.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Might be involved.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
So initially when you got this name, you're thinking, is
that him?
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Is that him? And no, it's not.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
That was the other puzzling part of the story. I
actually forgot about the other guy. He was arrested. But
not for this. Correct.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
They actually arrested him, I believe, the next day on
another charge.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
And we're holding him. And look, we've seen police use
this tactic before. They can't necessarily pin murder charges or
bigger charges on someone they suspect might be involved in
a homicide. So they lock him up for. a smaller
charge that they know that they can get him behind
bars for. So it really did seem like he might
be a potential suspect. And turns out we've got a
(06:42):
completely different man who no one was talking about and
who no one in her life apparently was aware of.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
I'm not used to that word, Robes. When they, police
do this often when it comes to murder investigations and
somebody's being arrested, they say this is the, a friend,
an acquaintance or something. have an association. I'm not that
familiar what that could possibly mean, but robes at least,
I guess, for a lot of folks, family included, and
(07:09):
maybe a lot of people in Mississippi. It's crazy, and
I know this, just say it, and you'll hopefully understand
what I'm saying, a relief that it wasn't what we
thought it might be. And I hate that we wish
the woman was not dead no matter what, but there
were certain implications to what this represented if, in fact,
this was I don't know, had some racial connection to it,
(07:31):
but they're telling us at this point, no. No motive.
Don't know who this guy is, why she might have
been killed, why he would have hung her up in
a tree. But Robes, they said, wait a minute, do
I have it right? No. They came out and said
the homicide, the M.E., on Thursday. Yes. Did they? No,
they arrested him on Friday. I got it wrong. But yes,
(07:52):
on Friday, they went to the house to serve search warrants.
He's not there. And then they just get lucky.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
They find him walking on the street.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
They're driving back to the police station.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
And they just see him on the street. They arrest
him on the spot. And here's what police said officially
about the arrest. The arrest today is an important development
in this investigation, but it is not the conclusion. This
case remains active and additional arrests will be pending as
our investigation continues to follow the evidence that wherever it leads.
(08:25):
So that was a big headline to say that they
expect more people to be arrested. And look, the police
chief also acknowledged this. We understand the questions and the
desire for answers given Mississippi's history. He also acknowledged this
particular story has garnered international headlines at this point because
(08:48):
of the way she was found.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
I think that's okay. And I think they Should robes.
A nod to just acknowledge. I know, y'all, this is Mississippi.
I get it, and I understand why you all are scrutinizing.
I think that's fair, and to have that acknowledgement I
thought was important, and I think it's one we don't
see enough of. Just to acknowledge what the community might
(09:10):
be feeling or thinking. We get it, y'all, this is Mississippi. Oh, yes,
we've done this story before. In the history, folks who
have kept up with, historically in this country, the number
of lynchings, Mississippi leads the way.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
By leaps and bounds.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Actually, yes.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
And so the point being, yes, I agree with you
when I saw that the police chief included that in
the statement about the arrest and.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
That more arrests were coming.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
I just it goes. I wish every public official would
just see this. And remember, it's important. It's important to
acknowledge what we're all thinking. It's important to acknowledge what
the concerns are. To sweep them under the rug or
to pretend like they don't exist further pisses people off.
And I do think you do so much good. by
(10:00):
actually just being transparent and honest and be willing to
state the obvious.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Acknowledge people's feelings. Yes. Use that word, just validation.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Validation is so important.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
And even to hear some of the reactions from her
family to find out that arrest was made, it was
more than relief. It was just like, oh, thank God.
Because I think they were all holding their breaths. Will
we ever know what happened to our daughter? Will we
ever know what really happened? And they said from the
(10:37):
very beginning, repeatedly to everyone who would listen, this young
woman would never have taken her own.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Life, ever.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
As we're talking about the history of Mississippi and whatnot,
it doesn't matter necessarily to the family. Right. There is
no relief. They don't feel any relief knowing it wasn't
some racist incident. They don't at all. Their pain is
the same. But there is this other dynamic. And it
was very much a part of the story. And Robes
has been a part of the story because we have
had recent cases, including the kid, the Delta State kid,
(11:12):
his name, Trey Reed. That was just in September of
last year. Delta State University. He was found hanging from
a tree on campus. They did officially rule this one
a suicide.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Which still just doesn't seem possible.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Again, from everything that everybody describes about this kid, it
doesn't seem possible that he would do this outgoing football player,
all this stuff, Robe, that didn't make sense. But then
they have had a couple more in recent years. Same thing, Robes.
Somebody found hanging from a tree that's ruled a suicide.
I just, that's tough to... It's hard to understand why
(11:51):
a black person in the South would want to kill
themselves by hanging themselves from a tree for everybody to see.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
That makes zero sense.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
And so to have another case like this happen and
to think that they were possibly going to rule it
a suicide as well. Look, it was concerning that it
took them a month to rule it a homicide. I
know we've seen this in other cases. But I really
don't understand. If the medical examiner was capable of ruling
it a homicide a month later, why did it take
a month?
Speaker 2 (12:16):
I never understand the delay. Why wouldn't you?
Speaker 3 (12:19):
Because that would have gone a long way in easing
some of these fears. Like, oh no, here we go again.
If they had immediately ruled it a homicide, at least
that would have made people feel like, okay, thank God
police are taking this seriously.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
We still don't know how Nolan Wells died.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
We still don't know how Nolan Wells died.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
We're waiting on those autopsy results.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
In the state of Mississippi.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
In the state of Mississippi. once again. But stay here, folks.
We do want you to hear a little bit about
Tasia Fortune. I'm going to read you something specifically from
the obituary, the official obituary that was put out for her,
and it is heartbreaking. All right, folks, we continue here
(13:05):
on this September 13th. Here on Amy and TJ, arrests
being made in the Tasia Fortune case. Rogue, you were
just saying you saw some more from her family?
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Yes, her mom has been speaking out and wanting people
to remember who her daughter was. And just talking about
how she had a very tough life, but that she
was on the verge of actually turning it around. That
she was taken from her parents at a young age,
(13:35):
placed in foster care.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Her parents.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
talked about how difficult it was being an interracial couple.
Her mom is white, her dad is black, and she
said that they faced racism and violence and it was
a difficult upbringing. And so she moved around from group homes,
ran away to Mississippi, and she had been living in
Jackson for 10 years, but she had struggled with homelessness
and she had dealt with abusive exes. So she had
(14:00):
just started or was getting ready to start a cleaning business,
getting her life in order. was turning her life around.
It's just one of those stories. She was only 29.
She had the responsibility of four young kids, and she
was working hard to try and just put her life
on the right path. It gives me chills from head
to toe because it's so unfair that she was stopped
(14:20):
so short at the age of 29, and now those
poor children are left without their mother.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
You know, you describe her life. It was like there
was a tragedy before this one.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
And I don't know. I don't know, man. It's been
a rough few days with a lot of stories. I
don't know. I just wish we could be kinder. Folks struggle.
We see them from a distance sometimes and think they're
this or they're that or they're whatever judgment we might
have for this woman. Single mom of four kids at
(14:51):
29 years old. Everybody struggles. Everybody's having a hard time.
They're not bad people. I don't know. We don't see
the tragedy sometimes. We see them as statistics. We see
them as demographics. There are She bounced around from group
home to group home and struggled with her parents and
all this stuff that happens. And this is how her
(15:11):
life ends? Right?
Speaker 3 (15:13):
I mean, it's hard not to cry when you think
about it. Yes, her children's ages, seven, five, four, and one. Babe,
she had a one-year-old who will never remember his mom.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
And that is just so awful.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
I got to hear this motive. What was the point
of this? What moved you to do this to this
woman and then put her out like that? What, why?
And you said there's a history they talked about, and
we don't know what the association is.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
We don't, and we don't know who the other people
who might be arrested, what their connection might be to
her as well.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
You mentioned the obit.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
I thought this was beautiful because, again, you talk about, unfortunately,
people are symbols of this or they represent that, but
they were human beings with hopes and dreams and futures.
And when you hear what her obituary said, it really
brings it home. Tasia's path was not always easy. and
there were highs and lows. She was intelligent and talented.
(16:11):
Having skipped her junior year of high school, she was
a star cross-country athlete. But no matter what, she never
lost faith in God, and she leaves behind a powerful
legacy of resilience rooted deeply in her unwavering faith. Even
in her darkest hours, she never stopped believing.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
In her Savior.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
You should be applauded. Somebody's gone through all that, and
you've got four kids you're raising. And still chugging on. Yes,
that is a legacy of resilience.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Yeah, and to think she was so smart.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
She skipped her junior year of high school because she
was just that brilliant. And you see the pictures of her,
by the way. She's stunning and gorgeous. And to think
about when I saw the star cross-country athlete, it was
so sad because given a different circumstance, given a different beginning,
she could have done so much more with, all of
(17:03):
the blessings she had, but she had so many strikes
against her that weren't her own doing. And you just
think about all the lost possibility and that she was
still trying to do better and do better for her children.
It's just awful to think that this is how it
all ended. But my God, I understand when you hear
her family literally just screaming is what they were described as,
(17:27):
thank God, thank God, that there at least are going
to be some answers and hopefully some justice served.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
But it just, all of it came too late for her.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Some of the answers you speak of, possibly we could
get a few more tomorrow. The suspect that has been
arrested and is facing a murder charge will, or is
expected at least, to be in court tomorrow morning for
a first court appearance. We will keep a close eye
on that one and keep a close eye on this
case because, bro, this is apparently just getting started as
(17:57):
far as arrests go, according to authorities. So folks, we
just wanted to get this on your radar and get
you updated. We always appreciate you spending a little time
with us. TJ, on behalf of my dear Amy Robach,
we'll talk to you all soon.
Hey there, folks. It is Sunday, September 13th, and a
woman found hanging from a tree in Mississippi. Her family
knew there was no way she killed herself. And now
authorities finally are agreeing with the family. And with that,
welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ Robes. This
(00:22):
is a major development, a major story that had major
implications nationally. But an arrest has finally been made. Robes,
I say finally. They finally even said that this woman
died by a homicide. So it took a while to
get to that.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
It took them nearly a month.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Actually, it took them a month to come to that conclusion.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
And you know what?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
I'm curious how you feel about it because when I
finally saw the headlines that an arrest had been made
in the hanging death of 29-year-old Tasia Fortune, I actually
felt my shoulders relax. Obviously, it's horrific and awful, but
to think that another woman hanging of a black person
in Mississippi was going to be ruled a suicide was
(01:02):
so deeply alarming. It actually just felt like relief that
it was investigated to the point where, yes, they were
determining that it was a homicide and that they found
at least one person responsible.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
And you know what? I saw others reporting and they
thought it was worth noting and they put it in there.
The person they arrested is a black man. Yep. They
arrested a black guy for the death of a black
woman who was hanging from a tree in Mississippi. Try
to make sense of all of that. But it was
last month, Tasia Fortune, Robes, and her picture was everywhere.
29-year-old young lady, mother of four. And Robes, this is Mississippi.
(01:38):
We've got to remember, right? So a woman, 29-year-old woman,
woman of faith, mother of four, hanging from a tree,
decided to kill herself. we know what the story was
initially and how people were taking this initially. Even Bernice
King got involved initially. People just making comments, hey, we
need to wait, but come on, Mississippi. What are we doing? Yes.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
And she was found hanging from a tree in one
of the most horrific scenes. It looked like something out
of a horror movie. It was an abandoned building and
this tree in the backyard. It was truly like You
couldn't believe this actually took place in real life. It
was that disturbing of just a setting and clearly, obviously,
(02:23):
the way she was found. But we still don't know
how she died.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
No, Robes, and it's an odd way for someone to
kill themselves, right? A public display like that. And for
a black person to choose to do that in Mississippi...
It just didn't make.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
A whole lot of sense.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
It doesn't make any sense whatsoever.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
And it also, baby, doesn't make sense for the person
they say killed her to also do this to her.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
A black man.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
What was the point of this display? Don't you want
to hide the crime? Or is he trying to push
people away from him by suggesting, oh, people will think
this is some racist stuff. They'll never look at me.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
I had the same thought because any other time you
see someone murder someone else, they hide the body. They
try to keep the body out of public view. They
don't want authorities to find the body because the longer
it takes for someone to find someone who's missing, the
better chance you have of getting away with it because
forensic evidence deteriorates. So to choose, and for a black
(03:29):
man to choose to display evidence The person he just killed,
a black woman from a tree in Mississippi, is beyond puzzling.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
So we're puzzled there, but Robes, it didn't help. Because
as we sit here, Robes, on this Sunday, September the 13th,
she was found August 3rd, so a full month ago.
And in that time, Robes, until recent days, police didn't
say a whole lot, including whether or not they thought
she died by suicide or homicide.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Right. So what changed, it was late last week that
the medical examiner finally acknowledged publicly that they had ruled
Tayshia's death a homicide. And it was then that they
were able to, I guess, get some arrest warrants or
some sort of search warrants. It allowed the investigation to
(04:20):
proceed that led to an arrest.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
But why wait so long?
Speaker 3 (04:24):
And because they wouldn't release Tayshia, The manner of death,
just that it was a homicide, there's just, there are
so many questions that police are going to have to
answer at some point and sooner rather than later.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
I would love to hear Robes. It happened immediately. Emmy
said she was, it was a homicide on Thursday. They
had an arrest on Friday. Like it almost seemed, I'm sorry,
easy to solve the crime. After they said she died
by homicide, was there no, like what was so evidentiary
in that autopsy that led them within 24 hours to
(04:59):
this guy? What was that? I'm very curious. They have
not said how she died. They have not given us
a motive. And Rob, they're even telling us, they're even vague.
About the relationship she had with this guy.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
So his name is 51-year-old Jacques Ratliff.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
And he looks like he's lived a hard life based
on the mugshots that have been released. But the only
connection that we have been told officially by police is
that he had an an association.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
With her and that's it.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
And we've heard, and we'll get into it, but from
some of the family members, her mom has been very
outspoken throughout all of this, but no one knows who
this man is. It's not someone familiar to the family.
It's not someone familiar to friends. So this isn't anyone
that at least those who knew her and loved her
were aware of. And early on, we did a story
(05:51):
on this, obviously when this happened, as shocking as it was,
there was some suggestion that a former father of one
of her children who lived on the street.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Might be involved.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
So initially when you got this name, you're thinking, is
that him?
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Is that him? And no, it's not.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
That was the other puzzling part of the story. I
actually forgot about the other guy. He was arrested. But
not for this. Correct.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
They actually arrested him, I believe, the next day on
another charge.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
And we're holding him. And look, we've seen police use
this tactic before. They can't necessarily pin murder charges or
bigger charges on someone they suspect might be involved in
a homicide. So they lock him up for. a smaller
charge that they know that they can get him behind
bars for. So it really did seem like he might
be a potential suspect. And turns out we've got a
(06:42):
completely different man who no one was talking about and
who no one in her life apparently was aware of.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
I'm not used to that word, Robes. When they, police
do this often when it comes to murder investigations and
somebody's being arrested, they say this is the, a friend,
an acquaintance or something. have an association. I'm not that
familiar what that could possibly mean, but robes at least,
I guess, for a lot of folks, family included, and
(07:09):
maybe a lot of people in Mississippi. It's crazy, and
I know this, just say it, and you'll hopefully understand
what I'm saying, a relief that it wasn't what we
thought it might be. And I hate that we wish
the woman was not dead no matter what, but there
were certain implications to what this represented if, in fact,
this was I don't know, had some racial connection to it,
(07:31):
but they're telling us at this point, no. No motive.
Don't know who this guy is, why she might have
been killed, why he would have hung her up in
a tree. But Robes, they said, wait a minute, do
I have it right? No. They came out and said
the homicide, the M.E., on Thursday. Yes. Did they? No,
they arrested him on Friday. I got it wrong. But yes,
(07:52):
on Friday, they went to the house to serve search warrants.
He's not there. And then they just get lucky.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
They find him walking on the street.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
They're driving back to the police station.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
And they just see him on the street. They arrest
him on the spot. And here's what police said officially
about the arrest. The arrest today is an important development
in this investigation, but it is not the conclusion. This
case remains active and additional arrests will be pending as
our investigation continues to follow the evidence that wherever it leads.
(08:25):
So that was a big headline to say that they
expect more people to be arrested. And look, the police
chief also acknowledged this. We understand the questions and the
desire for answers given Mississippi's history. He also acknowledged this
particular story has garnered international headlines at this point because
(08:48):
of the way she was found.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
I think that's okay. And I think they Should robes.
A nod to just acknowledge. I know, y'all, this is Mississippi.
I get it, and I understand why you all are scrutinizing.
I think that's fair, and to have that acknowledgement I
thought was important, and I think it's one we don't
see enough of. Just to acknowledge what the community might
(09:10):
be feeling or thinking. We get it, y'all, this is Mississippi. Oh, yes,
we've done this story before. In the history, folks who
have kept up with, historically in this country, the number
of lynchings, Mississippi leads the way.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
By leaps and bounds.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Actually, yes.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
And so the point being, yes, I agree with you
when I saw that the police chief included that in
the statement about the arrest and.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
That more arrests were coming.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
I just it goes. I wish every public official would
just see this. And remember, it's important. It's important to
acknowledge what we're all thinking. It's important to acknowledge what
the concerns are. To sweep them under the rug or
to pretend like they don't exist further pisses people off.
And I do think you do so much good. by
(10:00):
actually just being transparent and honest and be willing to
state the obvious.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Acknowledge people's feelings. Yes. Use that word, just validation.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Validation is so important.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
And even to hear some of the reactions from her
family to find out that arrest was made, it was
more than relief. It was just like, oh, thank God.
Because I think they were all holding their breaths. Will
we ever know what happened to our daughter? Will we
ever know what really happened? And they said from the
(10:37):
very beginning, repeatedly to everyone who would listen, this young
woman would never have taken her own.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Life, ever.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
As we're talking about the history of Mississippi and whatnot,
it doesn't matter necessarily to the family. Right. There is
no relief. They don't feel any relief knowing it wasn't
some racist incident. They don't at all. Their pain is
the same. But there is this other dynamic. And it
was very much a part of the story. And Robes
has been a part of the story because we have
had recent cases, including the kid, the Delta State kid,
(11:12):
his name, Trey Reed. That was just in September of
last year. Delta State University. He was found hanging from
a tree on campus. They did officially rule this one
a suicide.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Which still just doesn't seem possible.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Again, from everything that everybody describes about this kid, it
doesn't seem possible that he would do this outgoing football player,
all this stuff, Robe, that didn't make sense. But then
they have had a couple more in recent years. Same thing, Robes.
Somebody found hanging from a tree that's ruled a suicide.
I just, that's tough to... It's hard to understand why
(11:51):
a black person in the South would want to kill
themselves by hanging themselves from a tree for everybody to see.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
That makes zero sense.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
And so to have another case like this happen and
to think that they were possibly going to rule it
a suicide as well. Look, it was concerning that it
took them a month to rule it a homicide. I
know we've seen this in other cases. But I really
don't understand. If the medical examiner was capable of ruling
it a homicide a month later, why did it take
a month?
Speaker 2 (12:16):
I never understand the delay. Why wouldn't you?
Speaker 3 (12:19):
Because that would have gone a long way in easing
some of these fears. Like, oh no, here we go again.
If they had immediately ruled it a homicide, at least
that would have made people feel like, okay, thank God
police are taking this seriously.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
We still don't know how Nolan Wells died.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
We still don't know how Nolan Wells died.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
We're waiting on those autopsy results.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
In the state of Mississippi.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
In the state of Mississippi. once again. But stay here, folks.
We do want you to hear a little bit about
Tasia Fortune. I'm going to read you something specifically from
the obituary, the official obituary that was put out for her,
and it is heartbreaking. All right, folks, we continue here
(13:05):
on this September 13th. Here on Amy and TJ, arrests
being made in the Tasia Fortune case. Rogue, you were
just saying you saw some more from her family?
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Yes, her mom has been speaking out and wanting people
to remember who her daughter was. And just talking about
how she had a very tough life, but that she
was on the verge of actually turning it around. That
she was taken from her parents at a young age,
(13:35):
placed in foster care.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Her parents.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
talked about how difficult it was being an interracial couple.
Her mom is white, her dad is black, and she
said that they faced racism and violence and it was
a difficult upbringing. And so she moved around from group homes,
ran away to Mississippi, and she had been living in
Jackson for 10 years, but she had struggled with homelessness
and she had dealt with abusive exes. So she had
(14:00):
just started or was getting ready to start a cleaning business,
getting her life in order. was turning her life around.
It's just one of those stories. She was only 29.
She had the responsibility of four young kids, and she
was working hard to try and just put her life
on the right path. It gives me chills from head
to toe because it's so unfair that she was stopped
(14:20):
so short at the age of 29, and now those
poor children are left without their mother.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
You know, you describe her life. It was like there
was a tragedy before this one.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
And I don't know. I don't know, man. It's been
a rough few days with a lot of stories. I
don't know. I just wish we could be kinder. Folks struggle.
We see them from a distance sometimes and think they're
this or they're that or they're whatever judgment we might
have for this woman. Single mom of four kids at
(14:51):
29 years old. Everybody struggles. Everybody's having a hard time.
They're not bad people. I don't know. We don't see
the tragedy sometimes. We see them as statistics. We see
them as demographics. There are She bounced around from group
home to group home and struggled with her parents and
all this stuff that happens. And this is how her
(15:11):
life ends? Right?
Speaker 3 (15:13):
I mean, it's hard not to cry when you think
about it. Yes, her children's ages, seven, five, four, and one. Babe,
she had a one-year-old who will never remember his mom.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
And that is just so awful.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
I got to hear this motive. What was the point
of this? What moved you to do this to this
woman and then put her out like that? What, why?
And you said there's a history they talked about, and
we don't know what the association is.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
We don't, and we don't know who the other people
who might be arrested, what their connection might be to
her as well.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
You mentioned the obit.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
I thought this was beautiful because, again, you talk about, unfortunately,
people are symbols of this or they represent that, but
they were human beings with hopes and dreams and futures.
And when you hear what her obituary said, it really
brings it home. Tasia's path was not always easy. and
there were highs and lows. She was intelligent and talented.
(16:11):
Having skipped her junior year of high school, she was
a star cross-country athlete. But no matter what, she never
lost faith in God, and she leaves behind a powerful
legacy of resilience rooted deeply in her unwavering faith. Even
in her darkest hours, she never stopped believing.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
In her Savior.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
You should be applauded. Somebody's gone through all that, and
you've got four kids you're raising. And still chugging on. Yes,
that is a legacy of resilience.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Yeah, and to think she was so smart.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
She skipped her junior year of high school because she
was just that brilliant. And you see the pictures of her,
by the way. She's stunning and gorgeous. And to think
about when I saw the star cross-country athlete, it was
so sad because given a different circumstance, given a different beginning,
she could have done so much more with, all of
(17:03):
the blessings she had, but she had so many strikes
against her that weren't her own doing. And you just
think about all the lost possibility and that she was
still trying to do better and do better for her children.
It's just awful to think that this is how it
all ended. But my God, I understand when you hear
her family literally just screaming is what they were described as,
(17:27):
thank God, thank God, that there at least are going
to be some answers and hopefully some justice served.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
But it just, all of it came too late for her.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Some of the answers you speak of, possibly we could
get a few more tomorrow. The suspect that has been
arrested and is facing a murder charge will, or is
expected at least, to be in court tomorrow morning for
a first court appearance. We will keep a close eye
on that one and keep a close eye on this
case because, bro, this is apparently just getting started as
(17:57):
far as arrests go, according to authorities. So folks, we
just wanted to get this on your radar and get
you updated. We always appreciate you spending a little time
with us. TJ, on behalf of my dear Amy Robach,
we'll talk to you all soon.
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