The murder trial of Tomeka Desha White, 45, of Marion, has been continued for a fourth time after the case came before the Perry County Circuit Court for trial on March 30.
Judge Marvin W. Wiggins entered an order the same day continuing the case by agreement of the parties. The trial is now reset for September 21, 2026, with a pretrial hearing on August 18 at 9:00 a.m.
White was indicted by a Perry County Grand Jury on June 14, 2023, on a charge of murder in connection with the October 3, 2022, stabbing death of Lavaris Heard. She was arrested on June 30, 2023, and released the same day on a $90,000 property bond. She has remained free on bond since her arrest.
The case has been set for trial and continued repeatedly since the indictment. A jury trial originally set for January 8, 2024, was continued and reset to September 9, 2024. That date was continued and reset to September 22, 2025, which was again continued and reset to March 30, 2026. The latest continuance pushes the case to nearly three years after the indictment and nearly four years after Heard’s death.
White’s defense attorney, Anthony Boggs Johnson of Centreville, filed speedy trial motions in November 2023 shortly after being appointed to replace White’s original attorneys, Wakisha E. Hazzard and J. Blake Tate, who were granted leave to withdraw from the case.
Court records reveal a prior history between White and Heard. On April 22, 2021, White filed a case for protection from abuse against Heard, alleging that he had physically assaulted her and threatened her with a gun. White later filed a motion to dismiss the protection order, which was granted on April 28, 2021.
Criminal charges of second-degree assault, third-degree domestic violence, and menacing were filed against Heard on May 5, 2021, and bound over to a grand jury. Those charges were dismissed in October 2022 following Heard’s death.
