The Black woman whose body was found hanging from a tree in Jackson, Mississippi, this week has been identified, although medical examiners are still reportedly working on determining her cause of death.
According to the Mississippi Free Press, the Hinds County Coroner’s Office said Thursday that the woman who was discovered hanging behind a vacant home is 29-year-old Tasia Fortune. The Jackson Police Department said earlier this week that community members in the predominantly Black Jackson neighborhood contacted police after finding her body, though it is not clear how long it had been there. So far, the coroner’s office hasn’t said whether foul play is suspected.
Still, with the state’s history of lynchings and other forms of violent racism, and the string of similar cases involving Black people found mysteriously hanging from trees — most of which have happened in southern states, including Mississippi — online speculation around Fortune’s death has been as prevalent as one should expect it to be, as Black people are especially tired of seeing these mysteries play out, especially due to how often they’re quickly ruled a suicides. Some people have even moved past speculation and are already convinced she was lynched.
As we wait for more official information on Fortune’s death to be released, her aunt, Etta Avolio, started a GoFundMe to “help bring Tasia home and cover burial expenses for her immediate family, with the funds withdrawn by her mother to help with those final arrangements.”
“Tasia Fortune was a beloved daughter, sister, and friend whose passing has left her family devastated and heartbroken,” the page reads. “During this lifetime, families go through ups and downs, and right now Tasia’s loved ones are facing one of the hardest moments they have ever known. Tasia was a strong-minded, big-hearted, vibrant young woman whose life was taken at just twenty-nine years old. Her loss has deeply shaken everyone who knew and loved her, and her family is now trying to begin healing while also facing the painful responsibility of saying their final farewells.”
The page also notes that “the family also wants others to know that justice will be served,” which could imply her family members also suspect foul play, even if medical examiners haven’t said so yet.
