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

DATE: TUESDAY, April 20, 1993                   TAG: 9304200079
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

AXTON MAN CHARGED IN GIRLFRIEND'S KILLING

A 42-year-old Axton man has been charged with murder after his girlfriend died late Saturday from a shotgun blast to the head, according to Henry County authorities.

Johnnie James Lipford, 42, of Route 2, Axton, and his live-in girlfriend - Dorothy Louise Tarpley, 39 - were at a neighbor's house playing cards when someone got into an argument with Lipford, authorities said. Lipford was struck in the head.

Tarpley and Lipford went back to their home and struggled over a shotgun. A blast from the shotgun struck Tarpley in the head and killed her. Lipford was arrested early Sunday and is being held in Henry County jail.

by CNB