Mother of Woman Found Hanging in Tree Shocked as Police Say Body Was Staged

The mother of a woman found hanging from a tree in Mississippi has spoken of her shock after authorities said they believed her daughter was dead before her body was placed at the allegedly "staged" crime scene.

Tasia Fortune, 29 and a mother of four, was found hanging from a tree at an abandoned home in Jackson in August. The discovery sparked widespread fears in the majority-Black city because of the state's deep history of racial violence and lynchings. But on Friday, police said that Fortune had been dead before her body was hanged from the tree.

"I have more questions now than what I did before," her mother Christy Spivey told the BBC.

The Jackson Police Department said that the medical examiner who conducted Fortune's post-mortem examination had determined that her death was a homicide and that "the scene and [the hanging were staged]." Officials have not disclosed the exact cause of death or shared any potential motive.

Police told a court on Friday that Fortune's death was thought to be the result of a drug-related dispute. A detective said Fortune may have been killed over allegations she stole drugs. Spivey rejected those allegations but acknowledged her daughter suffered from addiction.

"Tasia has an addiction — had — an addiction problem. She was trying to get better," Spivey said. "If she still was doing drugs, which I'm sure she probably was, she still didn't deserve to be done like that. Nobody does."

Her four sons, whose ages range from one to seven, are now living with a mix of family and friends. Two are in the process of being adopted.

Reporting by BBC News. Read the original report: Mother of woman found hanging in tree shocked as police say body was staged.