Latest / Crime Alert Hourly Update / Arrest Made in Death of Mississippi Mother Tasia Fortune as Family Demands Answers | Crime Alert 09.16.26

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Arrest Made in Death of Mississippi Mother Tasia Fortune as Family Demands Answers | Crime Alert 09.16.26 · Crime Alert Hourly Update

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  Speaker 1: Crime Alert, hourly update, breaking crime news now.
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  Speaker 2: I'm Sydney Silvani. A grieving Mississippi mother is seeking answers
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  Speaker 2: after police arrest a suspect in connection with the tragic
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  Speaker 2: death of her 29-year-old daughter. Tasia Fortune, a vibrant mother
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  Speaker 2: of four, was found hanging from a tree behind a
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  Speaker 2: vacant home in Jackson, Mississippi on August 3rd. More than
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  Speaker 2: a month later, on Friday, September 11th, Jackson Police Chief
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  Speaker 2: Rashal Brackney announced the arrest of 51-year-old Jaquez Ratliff on
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  Speaker 2: suspicion of murder. The Medical Examiner's Office officially ruled Fortune's
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  Speaker 2: death a homicide, leading investigators to move quickly. Chief Brackney
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  Speaker 2: called the arrest an important development, noting Ratliff has an
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  Speaker 2: association with Fortune, though police have not disclosed its extent.
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  Speaker 2: It remains unclear if Ratliff has entered a plea or
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  Speaker 2: retained an attorney. Speaking at a press conference, Chief Brackney
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  Speaker 2: made clear that the investigation is far from over.
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  Speaker 3: That arrest today is an important development in this investigation,
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  Speaker 3: but it is not the conclusion. This case remains active
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  Speaker 3: and additional arrests will be pending as our investigators continue
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  Speaker 3: to follow the evidence wherever it leads.
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  Speaker 2: Fortune's mother, Christy Spivey, who has openly called for answers,
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  Speaker 2: expressed that her family is in disbelief over the arrest.
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  Speaker 2: Spivey stated she does not know the suspect and does
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  Speaker 2: not believe race played a factor in her daughter's death.
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  Speaker 2: Police previously arrested 65-year-old Terrence Anderson on suspicion of weapon
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  Speaker 2: possession by a felon after being interviewed in connection with
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  Speaker 2: Fortune's case. Chief Brackney insisted her office will bring full
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  Speaker 2: clarity to the case.
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  Speaker 3: There is still work ahead of us, and our investigators
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  Speaker 3: will continue to do that work because Tasia and her
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  Speaker 3: children deserve nothing less.
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  Speaker 2: Fortune is remembered by her loved ones as a strong-minded, big-hearted,
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  Speaker 2: and vibrant young woman. A GoFundMe campaign created to support
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  Speaker 2: her family and cover funeral expenses has raised nearly $ 180, 000
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  Speaker 2: in donations as of Monday, September 14. Turning now to Florida,
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  Speaker 2: where a terrifying gas station assault has left a woman
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  Speaker 2: hospitalized with severe injuries. According to a news release from
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  Speaker 2: the St. Petersburg Police Department, 41-year-old Eleanor Crawford targeted a
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  Speaker 2: total stranger on Thursday evening, September 10th, at a mobile station.
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  Speaker 2: Authorities report that Crawford initially approached the 41-year-old victim, asking
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  Speaker 2: to borrow her phone, which the victim allowed. Crawford then
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  Speaker 2: asked for money. When the victim refused, Crawford allegedly set
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  Speaker 2: the gas nozzle on fire with a lighter, deliberately igniting
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  Speaker 2: the fuel and engulfing the vehicle in flames. The victim
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  Speaker 2: suffered second-degree burns. A witness parked nearby described the scene
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  Speaker 2: as a fireball, immediately rushing to assist by helping the
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  Speaker 2: burning victim into his truck and calling 911. Emergency responders
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  Speaker 2: transported the victim to Tampa General Hospital. Assistant Police Chief
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  Speaker 2: Mike Kovachev addressed the brutal attack during a press conference.
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  Speaker 1: You know, I think it's kind of a unique case
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  Speaker 1: because you don't see anything like this, especially something that
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  Speaker 1: results in such horrific burns. But they went out there,
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  Speaker 1: they worked with the fire department, and luckily they were
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  Speaker 1: able to get her stabilized, and she's going to make it.
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  Speaker 2: Police arrested Crawford nearby. Public Pinellas County court records show
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  Speaker 2: she is charged with felony attempted murder and arson, held
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  Speaker 2: on a $ 350, 000 bond while awaiting trial. It was not
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  Speaker 2: immediately clear whether Crawford had retained an attorney. More crime
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  Speaker 2: and justice news after this. In southern Louisiana, a horrific
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  Speaker 2: mass stabbing has left four family members dead and a
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  Speaker 2: six-year-old child critically wounded. According to relative and advocate Brandon Thiel,
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  Speaker 2: deputies with the Terrebonne Sheriff's Office responded to reports of
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  Speaker 2: a series of stabbing incidents on Saturday at a home
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  Speaker 2: in Houma. There, they discovered the bodies of Verna Mae Verdon,
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  Speaker 2: her daughter, Letha Verrett, her son, Paul Verrett, and Paul's girlfriend,
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  Speaker 2: Chrissy Lynn Parfait. Verdon was planning to retire in two
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  Speaker 2: weeks from a 20-year career at Walmart. Letha Verrett was
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  Speaker 2: a mother of seven, while Paul and Chrissy lived in
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  Speaker 2: a camper behind the residence. The sole survivor, Verdon's six-year-old grandson,
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  Speaker 2: bravely ran to a neighbor's house for emergency help despite
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  Speaker 2: critical injuries. Thiel described the boy as a smiling child
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  Speaker 2: who is the light of the family's world. Authorities detained
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  Speaker 2: 47-year-old Keegan Jude Solette in connection with the mass murder.
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  Speaker 2: A statement from District Attorney Joseph Waits' office in Terrebonne
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  Speaker 2: Parish confirmed deputies obtained warrants to arrest Solette on four
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  Speaker 2: counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder,
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  Speaker 2: charges carrying life imprisonment or the death penalty in Louisiana.
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  Speaker 2: Solette fathered a child with one of the slain victims.
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  Speaker 2: Court records reveal Solette has a history of violent behavior.
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  Speaker 2: He was tried and acquitted of attempted murder in a
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  Speaker 2: December 2019 hotel stabbing, and a grand jury failed to
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  Speaker 2: indict him in the January 2019 stabbing death of Scott Lavelle.
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  Speaker 2: District Attorney Waitz's office acknowledged prior prosecutions did not have
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  Speaker 2: the desired outcome, stating they respectfully disagree with past jury
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  Speaker 2: findings but are compelled to respect judicial outcomes. The tragedy
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  Speaker 2: comes after health officials warned of intimate partner violence in
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  Speaker 2: Louisiana and where female homicide rates exceed national averages. Across
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  Speaker 2: the nation, Centers for Disease Control data shows over half
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  Speaker 2: of female homicide victims are killed by intimate partners. Meanwhile,
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  Speaker 2: Thiel's fundraising campaign for funeral and medical costs has exceeded $ 46, 000.
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  Speaker 2: For more crime and justice news, be sure to join
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  Speaker 2: us for Crime Stories with Nancy Grace on Fox 1, YouTube,
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  Speaker 2: Sirius XM, and now streaming on Tubi. With this crime alert,
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  Speaker 2: I'm Sydney Silvani.