Police in Mississippi have arrested a man in connection with the death of a black woman found hanging from a tree last month.
Officers found the body of Tasia Fortune, 29, in the back yard of an abandoned home in Jackson last month.
Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney said officers had secured search and arrest warrants for Jarques Ratliff and arrested him when they encountered him walking on the street.
The 51-year-old is believed to have had an "association" with Ms Fortune, a mother of four children, but police did not elaborate on their relationship.
Ms Brackney said the state's medical examiner's office determined on Thursday that the death was a homicide.
"This case remains active, and additional arrests will be pending," he added.
Ms Fortune's mother, Christy Spivey, said she "just started crying and told them 'thank you, thank you, thank you,'" after learning of the arrest.
She said police did not share a motive or whether DNA led them to Mr Ratliff's arrest, adding that she did not know him and was asking her daughter's friends if they did.
"We still don't have a lot of answers," she said, but she added that she was certain that her daughter would not have committed suicide.
"Absolutely not. Even if she could climb that tree, no, no, she would never, ever, ever," Ms Spivey said.
She added that the last time she saw her daughter was in late July for a planned family reunion in Kentucky that was cancelled, but Ms Fortune came to visit anyway.
"When she was there, there was this pull, like a spiritual pull to her. I needed her. I guess God knew that was going to be it," Ms Spivey said.
She added that she and Ms Fortune's father faced racism and violence as a mixed-race couple in Crittenden County, Kentucky, before she was born.
Read more on Sky News:
CIA releases Bin Laden file on 9/11 anniversary
US voters warned it's 'America or Trump'
Ms Fortune was taken from her parents and placed in foster care as a child.
She moved among group homes during her high school years, before eventually running away to Mississippi.
Ms Spivey said she wasn't sure where her daughter was living at the time of her death but said she had been struggling with homelessness in recent years.
She added that Ms Fortune had experienced verbal and physical abuse from a former partner.
Ms Fortune had also been talking about starting a cleaning business and trying to get her life in order before she died.
"Say her name. Keep it going," Ms Spivey said. "Because I'm not going to stop until I get answers."
(c) Sky News 2026: Man arrested over death of black woman found hanging from tree in Mississippi
Local news content from CItiblog - read more at 
Reform UK given record £36m donation from crypto billionaire Ben Delo
Boy, 15, found clinging to capsized boat off Alaska after surviving for days at sea
Greek woman, 54, gives birth after using embryo frozen for 22 years
Eagle holds first talks with Thames Water chiefs amid bailout crisis
Blaze breaks out at London tower block as multiple fire crews dispatched
First arrest over anti-migrant protests in Portsmouth - as police say anyone wearing masks could be detained
At least 44 people injured after train derails in northern France