Mother of Black Woman Found Hanging From Tree Demands Answers as Police Investigate Potential Homicide

The death of 29-year-old Tasia Fortune remains under investigation more than a month after her body was discovered behind a vacant home in Jackson, Mississippi. Her mother, Christy Spivey, has been pressing authorities for information as police await the Mississippi State Medical Examiner's findings and investigate the circumstances surrounding her death as a potential homicide.

Fortune was found dead behind a vacant property on 3 August, and authorities have yet to publicly determine the cause or manner of her death. Christy Spivey, Fortune's mother, has questioned the lack of information provided to the family.

Spivey told the BBC that she had repeatedly sought updates and was frustrated by what she described as delays in the investigation. Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney said the department had treated the case as a potential homicide from the outset, although police had previously described it publicly as a death investigation.

Family Seeks Answers

Fortune was a mother of four who had lived in Mississippi for more than a decade. Spivey said she last saw her daughter on 26 July, when Fortune had travelled from Mississippi to Kentucky for a family reunion. She described her daughter as being in good spirits at the time, recalling their last conversation.

'She was talking about, you know, maybe even coming home,' Spivey told the BBC, rejecting the suggestion that her daughter had taken her own life.

Fortune was found hanging from a tree in a state with a long history of racial violence and lynching. The circumstances have heightened concern in the community, but there has been no official finding that Fortune's death was racially motivated. Spivey has also said she does not believe her daughter was the victim of a hate crime.

Police Await Autopsy Findings

Brackney told the Jackson City Council on Tuesday that an autopsy had been completed about four weeks earlier, but investigators were still waiting for the Mississippi State Medical Examiner's Office to provide its findings. 'We are conducting the investigation at the highest appropriate level while we await the medical examiner's findings,' Brackney said.

The chief said police had investigated the case as a potential homicide from the outset so evidence could be preserved while officials awaited the medical examiner's findings. She also said investigators remained in contact with Spivey. Her concerns about communication were raised during Tuesday's City Council meeting after Councilman Kenneth Stokes shared a letter from her.

Family Grieves as Questions Remain

Fortune's mother has described her death as devastating and said the family is struggling to understand how she could have died.

'This has just devastated us,' Spivey said. 'Tasia was strong-minded, she was full of laughs and love, she had faith in God... She had so little and gave so much,' she added.

Spivey also described her daughter's state of mind before her death, saying, 'she was better than I had seen her in a long time. She was at peace.' She said she did not believe Fortune had died by suicide, telling ABC News: 'She did not do this to herself. I know my daughter and she did not do this to herself.'

Fortune had remained connected to her family after moving to Mississippi as a teenager, according to relatives. Her sister, LaToni Fortune, said the family regularly stayed in contact, either through visits to Mississippi or when Tasia returned to Kentucky.

The family has continued to seek answers about Fortune's death while authorities await the medical examiner's findings. No official cause or manner of death has been announced.