Indiana man accused of cannibalizing ex-girlfriend found guilty of murder, burglary; acquitted of rape charge
09/21/2020 4:32 pm PDT
via WLKY and WXIN:
JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WXIN/AP) -- A southern Indiana man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and eating parts of her body was convicted of a murder charge Friday.
On Monday, WLKY reports, the jury spent nearly an hour in deliberations before they recommended Joseph Oberhansley, 39, serve life in prison without parole.
Jurors deliberated for about five hours before announcing the guilty verdict against Joseph Oberhansley of Jeffersonville in Tammy Jo Blanton's death on Friday. The 46-year-old victim's body was found at her home the morning of Sept. 11, 2014, badly mutilated with more than 25 sharp force injuries and multiple blunt force injuries, authorities have said.
The jury convicted Oberhansley of murder and burglary, but reached a not-guilty verdict on rape charges against him.
A psychiatrist who evaluated Oberhansley on six occasions believed him to be schizophrenic, adding Oberhansley heard voices and suffered from hallucinations, WLKY reports.
Before closing arguments, Oberhansley asked to address jurors, telling them: "That's a horrible thing that happened to her. I did care about her." He also said he wasn't happy with his representation and planned to appeal.
Clark County Prosecutor Jeremy Mull in his closing statement challenged Oberhansley's testimony Thursday as the lone defense witness that he was suffering from head injuries when he was coerced into a confession after nearly three hours of police interrogation following the discovery of Blanton's body.
Oberhansley testified “two Black guys” had been at her home when he arrived around 4 a.m. that day and said they were responsible for Blanton's death and knocking him out. He awoke when police knocked on the door looking for the victim.
Oberhansley faces a possible sentence of life in prison without parole. Prosecutors dropped an attempt to seek the death penalty last year.
TRUE CRIME DAILY: Joseph Oberhansley case coverage - TCD
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