The Tasia Fortune hanging death in Jackson, Mississippi, is drawing intense scrutiny as the family of the 29-year-old mother of four pushes back hard against the idea that she died by suicide. Her mother, Christy Spivey, says she believes her daughter was killed and insists the family wants a full accounting of what happened behind an abandoned home in the city.
Spivey told ABC News, “She did not do this to herself,” adding, “I know my daughter and she did not do this to herself.” She said the last time she saw Fortune was on July 26, when Fortune traveled from Mississippi to Kentucky for a family reunion. Spivey described her daughter as calm and in a better place emotionally than she had seen in some time. “She was at peace,” she said. Authorities said Fortune’s body was found in Jackson on Aug. 3 and had been there for three to four days.
Police and other officials have not yet determined the cause of death. Investigators have said they are working to determine the circumstances surrounding Fortune’s death, but they have not said whether they believe the case is suspicious. That uncertainty has left the family waiting for official autopsy results and trying to make sense of a death that has already become a flashpoint in Mississippi.
Spivey said she does not want her daughter’s name linked to a claim that the death was racially motivated, even as others outside the family have pointed to the state’s history of lynchings. Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., wrote on Facebook that people should not jump to conclusions, but she also said the painful history of such cases in Mississippi makes transparency, thoroughness and truth essential. Jackson City Councilman Kenneth Stokes also sent a letter on Wednesday to Mississippi U.S. Attorney Baxter Kruger seeking help in the case and referred to Fortune as a murder victim.
The investigation has moved slowly in public view. Jackson police have released limited information, and no suspects have been identified. One man, Terrence Anderson, was interviewed by police and said he had argued with Fortune but had nothing to do with her death, WLBT reported. Police said the two were in a relationship, a claim Anderson denied. He acknowledged arguing with her, but denied involvement in her death.
