Mother of Mississippi woman found hanging demands answers as police label case homicide

Tasia Fortune, 29, was found hanging from a tree on 3 August in the lot of an abandoned home in Jackson, Mississippi. Police chief RaShall Brackney confirmed the case is being investigated as a potential homicide, pending the medical examiner's findings. Fortune's mother, Christy Spivey, says she has made numerous inquiries to police but has received little information.

Local officials, including City Councilman Kenneth Stokes, have called for federal assistance, and petitions have gathered tens of thousands of signatures demanding one outlet's review of the state's medical examiner and FBI involvement. U.S. Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett has also requested a federal probe, citing concerns about possible modern-day lynchings. The incident adds to a series of recent deaths in Mississippi where individuals were found hanged from trees.