Skyy Raven Marie Mims is a suspect in the killing of a Dalton, Ga., store clerk.

DALTON, Ga. - Local public defenders say they plan to continue defending a woman accused of killing a northwest Georgia store clerk unless District Attorney Bert Poston decides to pursue the death penalty.

Skyy Raven Mims, a 21-year-old aspiring model, dancer and rapper from Detroit, is accused of stabbing 37-year-old Dayahbhai Kalidas Chaudhari to death in the Dalton area on March 9.

Assistant Public Defender Brandon Sparks tells The Daily Citizen that his office will represent Mims for now.

Sparks said that if it becomes a death penalty case, his office would not have the resources to continue handling it and other lawyers would be sought to represent Mims.

Poston has said he needs more time to review the facts of the case before deciding whether to pursue the death penalty.