Christy SpiveyWarning: 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.
The Jackson Police Department said that the medical examiner who conducted Fortune’s post-mortem examination had determined that her death was a homicide and that “the scene and the hanging were staged”.
Officials have not disclosed the exact cause of death or shared any potential motive behind the allegedly staged hanging.
Three people have been arrested in the case, all of whom are black.
“I was hoping to be more relieved,” Spivey said, adding that the police had not specified how the three suspects were connected to her daughter – or why her death was allegedly staged in this way.
“Still no cause of death, no date of death – nothing,” she said. “What actually killed her?”
Fortune’s death left the local community on edge and lawmakers demanding federal probes. But the latest developments have created more confusion.
Christy SpiveySpivey told the BBC that getting the update from the coroner that her daughter did not die by hanging initially gave her peace – at least her daughter did not die in such a gruesome manner, she thought.
“When the police called me, I started crying and thanked them and felt a little more at peace than I had before,” she said. “I just hope they’ve got the right person/people.”
When the latest details surrounding her death emerged this week, she said she was “starting to break down”.
Police told a court on Friday that Fortune’s death was thought to be as a result of a drug-related dispute. A detective said Fortune may have been killed over allegations she stole drugs.
Spivey rejected those allegations, but did acknowledge her daughter suffered from addiction.
“Tasia has an addiction – had – an addiction problem. She was trying to get better,” Spivey said.
“If she still was doing drugs, which I’m sure she probably was, she still didn’t deserve to be done like that. Nobody does.”
She said her daughter was homeless at the time of her death, but typically bounced around other people’s homes.
Her four sons, whose ages range from one to seven, are now living with a mix of family and friends. Two are in the process of being adopted.
