The trials in two related murder cases in Harrisonburg have been postponed for more than a year. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
Judge Bruce D. Albertson presided over a motions hearing in the Rockingham Circuit Court on Thursday in the cases of Tonita Lorice Smith and Allene "Beth" Redmon. The man charged with their murders, Anthony Eugene Robinson, has been dubbed the Shopping Cart Killer by law enforcement.
Robinson's attorney, Louis Nagy, asked the court to postpone the trials, which had been slated for August and September of this year, because a forensic psychiatrist has not yet finished a sanity evaluation. It was due on July 3rd. Nagy noted that the doctor is "swamped," being one of few psychiatrists in the area who is willing to take on such cases.
Nagy said, [quote] "My hands are largely tied until I get that." [end quote] Once he receives the report he will then need time to review it with Robinson and the doctor and decide how to proceed with the defense.
Judge Albertson ordered the trials to be rescheduled. Smith's murder case is now set to be tried in September 2024, and Redmon's in January 2025.
Editor's note, Sept. 3 — a previous version of this story misspelled Tonita Lorice Smith's name. It has been corrected.
