Mother demands answers, weeks after black woman found hanging from Mississippi tree

Tasia Fortune, 29, was discovered hanging from a tree in Jackson, Mississippi on 3 August. Her mother, Christy Spivey, still seeks answers from local authorities more than a month later.

The silence from police sparked outrage, with community members demanding transparency.

On Tuesday police confirmed Fortune’s death is being investigated as a potential homicide, but the official cause remains unconfirmed.

The state’s history of racial violence and the discovery of two other bodies hanged from trees in September 2025 heighten concerns.

Thousands signed an online petition calling for an independent investigation into the Chief Medical Examiner and for FBI involvement.

City councilman Kenneth Stokes and Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett have urged federal agencies to step in, citing modern‑day lynching possibilities.

Spivey recalls seeing her daughter alive only on 26 July, before her death and funeral. She wonders why police investigations have been delayed and stresses that she has not received information on how to exhume her daughter’s body, should the investigation require it.

The case underscores fears for safety on campus and in Jackson, with NAACP student leaders and local residents feeling “extra cautious.”

Spivey expressed she wanted to cremate her daughter but ultimately chose burial, hoping for updates that might lead to further exhumation as the investigation progresses.