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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 13, 1993                   TAG: 9302130076
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A4   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: HILLSVILLE                                LENGTH: Short

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MURDER TRIAL POSTPONED FOR EVALUATIONS

A capital murder trial for a Carroll County man charged with the fatal stabbings of a woman and her 2-year-old daughter has been postponed until May.

The trial for Thomas Jefferson Midkiff had been scheduled to start March 1, but Circuit Judge Duane Mink granted a defense motion to continue it until May 24. It is scheduled to last five days.

Midkiff is to undergo mental evaluations before his trial.

The victims were Sheila Marie Ring, 30, and her daughter, Jasmine Sutphin, whose bodies were found after fire consumed their home near Woodlawn in December 1991. An autopsy showed they died from stab wounds and not from the fire. Midkiff also has been charged with arson.

- Southwest bureau

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