Tasia Fortune's body was found on August 3. (Photos: X) Police in the US state of Mississippi are investigating the death of a 29-year-old woman whose body was found hanging from a tree as a homicide. Tasia Fortune's body was discovered on 3 August in the grounds of an abandoned house in west Jackson. Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney told the city council on Tuesday that officers had treated the case as a possible homicide from the beginning, although the medical examiner has not yet confirmed the cause or manner of death. An autopsy was completed about four weeks ago, Chief Brackney said, but police have not yet received its findings. "To date, we have not received the outcomes of that autopsy," she told council members. "However, the Jackson Police Department has been investigating this case from day one as a homicide until we hear otherwise from the medical examiner's office," she said. The case has drawn national attention because of the circumstances in which Fortune was found. The tree was in a predominantly Black neighbourhood with a history of racial violence and lynchings. A person of interest has been identified and was arrested on an unrelated gun charge, authorities said. Fortune's mother, Christy Spivey, has called for more information about her daughter's death. She previously told Mississippi Today that she believed her daughter had been killed but did not believe she was the victim of a hate crime. She also said Fortune was not suicidal. Spivey, who lives in Kentucky, wrote a letter to the Jackson City Council expressing frustration over what she described as a lack of communication from investigators. "I'm not sure what you can do, but if you need me to present I will travel to Jackson so my voice is heard. I will attend anything I need to attend," she wrote. Her letter was read aloud during Tuesday's meeting. Chief Brackney said investigators had remained in contact with Spivey and her estranged husband. The case has prompted calls for greater transparency, including from Jackson councilman Kenneth Stokes, who shared Spivey's letter and has repeatedly sought answers. "Hanging is an ugly, ugly part of our past that we never ever want to come back again," Stokes said. He has written to US Attorney Baxter Kruger and Mississippi's two Republican senators, Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith, requesting federal assistance with the investigation. He also held a news conference outside Jackson City Hall on Sunday calling for answers. Spivey told the BBC that she was still waiting for answers from officials more than a month after her daughter's death. "It's making me angry," she said. "What is the hold up?" The case has left residents in the majority-Black city shocked and angry. Online petitions calling for greater transparency have gathered tens of thousands of signatures, while members of Congress have called for federal involvement. Rounak is a journalist with over 7 years of experience covering geopolitical and international affairs. He has a keen interest in research and explain... View More