Mother of woman found hanging in tree shocked as police say body was staged
Police in Mississippi have determined that the death of Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old woman found hanging from a tree, was a homicide and that the scene was staged. Three suspects have been arrested, though authorities have not yet released a cause of death or a motive for the crime.
Why it matters
The case highlights ongoing concerns regarding racial violence and the handling of suspicious deaths in the American South.
Share Save Add as preferred on Google Brandon Drenon and Christal Hayes Christy Spivey Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old mother of four, was found hanging from a tree in August Warning: This story contains distressing details
The mother of a woman found hanging in a tree in Mississippi has spoken of her shock after authorities said they believed her daughter was dead before her body was placed at the allegedly "staged" crime scene.
Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old mother of four, was found hanging from a tree at an abandoned home in Jackson in August.
The discovery sparked widespread fears in the majority-black city because of the state's deep history of racial violence and lynchings. But on Friday, police said that Fortune had been dead before her body was hanged from the tree.
"I have more questions now than what I did before," her mother Christy Spivey told the BBC.
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