A hefty bond has been set for the third man arrested in connection with the murder of a Jackson woman found hanging.
Jackson police report that 45-year-old Eric Clark turned himself in to law enforcement on Sept. 25 for his role in killing 29-year-old Tasia Fortune. He joins 51-year-old Jarques Ratliff and 25-year-old Earnest Lloyd Jr. in facing murder charges in this case.
On Monday, Clark appeared in Jackson Municipal Court for his first appearance and was given a $5 million bond.
The mother of four children was discovered deceased on Road of Remembrance on Aug. 3. According to officials, her body was found hanging from a tree behind a vacant house. The State Medical Examiner’s Office ruled her death a homicide and indicated that the hanging was staged.
Authorities believe Fortune may have been killed at another location, but her official cause of death has not been announced at this time. Additionally, investigators have expressed in court that her death might have been the result of a dispute over missing illegal drugs.
In the meantime, officials have taken DNA samples from Ratliff, the first man arrested in this case, and from some of Fortune’s possessions that may have belonged to the defendant. Ratliff told authorities that he and Fortune were friends. Law enforcement believes he was around the victim before her death.
Jackson Police Department detectives say they have interviewed as many as 15 individuals, collected and preserved forensic evidence, and followed numerous leads in an effort to establish the facts of this case. The department added that it will continue to investigate Fortune’s death until all individuals believed to be involved are held accountable.
