Judge sets $5M bond for third suspect in Mississippi tree homicide

Judge Jeffery Reynolds set a $5 million bond Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, for Eric Clark, 45, the third man charged with murder in Tasia Fortune's death. Fortune, 29, was found hanging from a tree behind an abandoned house in Jackson, Mississippi, on Aug. 3. Clark turned himself in Friday. The state medical examiner ruled the death a homicide; Fortune was dead before being hanged. Police say the killing may have stemmed from a drug dispute and the scene was staged with props. Jarques Ratliff is held without bond and pleaded not guilty. Earnest Lloyd Jr., 25, faces the same charge and was denied bond. All three suspects and Fortune are Black. Reynolds said people justifiably did not know if a killer was on the loose who might hang people for racial reasons. Authorities have not said race played a role. Christy Spivey, Fortune's mother, said Clark hugged her at the courthouse last week and said he was there to turn himself in for murder, though he never said he did it. Police Chief RaShall Brackney said more arrests are likely. A Sept. 30 hearing will consider whether the case goes to a grand jury. Fortune was a mother of four who had struggled with homelessness and hoped to start a cleaning business.