Joseph Oberhansley, whose priors includes a conviction for mmanslaughter and attempted murder conviction, now faces grusome, new murder charges after allegedly killing then eating Tammy Jo, Blanton, the girlfriend who posted his bond for a previous offense.
Oberhansley, 37, of Jeffersonville, Indiana has been committed at the Logansport State Hospital since October, when a judge ruled that he wasn’t competent to stand trial for the 2014 killing of girlfriend Tammy Jo Blanton.
Prosecutors allege Oberhansley broke into the Jeffersonville home of Tammy Jo Blanton [photo, right], in September 2014.
He is accused of raping, fatally stabbing Blanton before eating parts of her body.
A probable cause statement released Monday and obtained by WAVE3 says Joseph Oberhansley allegedly stabbed his girlfriend Tammy Jo Blanton to death before eating portions of her brain, lungs, and heart.
“This matter has been going on for four years now, and it’s high time that the victim’s family saw justice done,” Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Jeremy Mull said.
Mull speaking to the Courier Journal after the hearing.
The letter from the psychiatrist filed with Clark County Circuit Court noted that Oberhansley’s competency has been restored since he was committed there last October to undergo competency restoration.
In some of his early court appearances after his arrest, Obserhansley had outbursts in court and said his name was Zeus, WAVE3 reported.
Oberhansley’s attorneys requested in court Thursday to have a month to talk with him and form an opinion on his competency. During the hearing, Oberhansley spoke up, telling the judge he needed to fire his attorneys, according to the Courier Journal.
“They’re trying to control my thoughts,” he said in court.
“They’re trying to control my mind.”
Judge Vicki Carmichael told him he needed to work with his attorneys, and scheduled another hearing on Sept. 21 to discuss the matter.
Prosecutors have previously said they will seek the death penalty for Blanton’s killing. Before his arrest in 2015, Oberhansley was free on parole for a previous killing when he was a teenager, according to WAVE3.
Oberhansley previously served 12 years in prison after killing his girlfriend Sabrina Elder as a 17-year-old in 1998.
He also shot and injured his mother before turning the gun on himself inside his grandmother’s home in a suburb of Salt Lake City, Utah in 1998.
He reportedly shot the victim’s multiple times without provocation.
He was convicted in 2000 and released in July 2012.
Judge rules Indiana cannibal competent to stand trial – Joseph Oberhansley is accused of killing, eating dead ex-girlfriend in 2014
Judge ruled Thursday that Indiana accused of killing, eating dead ex-girlfriend four years ago, is competent to stand trial
Joseph Oberhansley, 37, of Jeffersonville, Ind., has been committed at the Logansport State Hospital since Oct 2017
A judge had ruled that he wasn’t competent to stand trial for the 2014 killing of girlfriend Tammy Jo Blanton
Oberhansley broke into the Jeffersonville home of Blanton in Sept 2014, and that he raped before fatally stabbed her
He then allegedly ate portions of her brain, lungs, and heart
Oberhansley was out on parole, released in July 2012 having served 12 years in prison
He was convicted after killing his girlfriend and shooting his mother in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1998, before turning the gun on himself
Prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty for Blanton’s killing
Convicted killer Joseph Oberhansley [photo], allegedly resorted to cannibalism after killing a second girlfriend in 16 years
An Indiana man accused of raping, killing and eating parts of his ex-girlfriend’s dead body is now mentally competent to stand trial, a state psychiatrist said Thursday.
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