GUILTY IN - Tammy Blanton, 46, murdered, mutilated, partially eaten, Jeffersonville, 11 Sept 2014 *appeal 2022 denied*

[Niner]

07/23/2019 Hearing Scheduling Activity
Final Motions Conference scheduled for 08/12/2019 at 1:30 PM.

08/12/2019 Final Motions Conference
Session: 08/12/2019 1:30 PM, Judicial Officer: Carmichael, Vicki L

08/19/2019 Jury Trial
Session: 08/19/2019 9:00 AM, Judicial Officer: Carmichael, Vicki L


link: Case Search - MyCase

 

[Niner]

Monday, August 12th:
*Final Motions Hearing (@ 1:30pm ET) – IN – Tammy Jo Blanton (46) (Sept. 11, 2014, Jeffersonville) – *Joseph A. Oberhansley (33) arrested (9/11/14) & charged (9/15/14) with murder, burglary & rape. Plead not guilty. Held without bond. DA seeks DP. DA has taken DP off the table (6/28/19).
Trial was delayed from June 12, 2017 to August 19, 2019.
Information & court hearings from 6/10/15 thru 12/17/18 reference post #45 here:
IN - Tammy Blanton, 46, murdered, mutilated, Jeffersonville, 11 Sept 2014
2/1/19 Update: Pretrial hearing was cancelled. Next pretrial hearing on 3/1. 3/1/19: Hearing re change of venue on 4/22. Pretrial hearings set for 5/31, 6/28 & 7/22. Trial starts 8/19/19.
6/11/19 Update: Judge rules Oberhansley can reject insanity defense. He filed a motion 5/31/19 that he did not want to go with insanity defense as his lawyer did. 6/28/19: Hearing was cancelled. Stipulation filed. Hearing on Motion to Dismiss on 7/2.
7/2/19 Update: DA has taken the death penalty off the table during a plea agreement. Hearing was cancelled. Next Pretrial hearing on 7/22. 7/22/19 Update: Next Final motions hearing on 8/12.

 

[Niner]

08/12/2019 Final Motions Conference
Session: 08/12/2019 1:30 PM, Judicial Officer: Carmichael, Vicki L

08/12/2019 Motion Filed
Motion in Limine purported evidence of rape and presence of semen
Filed By: Oberhansley, Joseph
File Stamp: 08/09/2019

08/12/2019 Motion Filed
motion for instructions
Filed By: Oberhansley, Joseph
File Stamp: 08/09/2019

08/12/2019 Motion Filed
AMENDED Accused Motion for Redaction of Interrogation Statement
Filed By: Oberhansley, Joseph
File Stamp: 08/12/2019

08/19/2019 Jury Trial
Session: 08/19/2019 9:00 AM, Judicial Officer: Carmichael, Vicki L


link: Case Search - MyCase

 

[Niner]

Joseph Oberhansley’s murder trial will begin next week as scheduled


JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WAVE) - A Jeffersonville man accused of killing his girlfriend and eating parts of her body will stand trial next week as scheduled.

In court Monday for a number of final motions ahead of that trial, Judge Vicki Carmichael told Joseph Oberhansley that he will stand trial for the murder of Tammy Jo Blanton, nearly five years after her death.
[.....]
In court, attorneys on both sides went back and forth on whether certain text messages or statements can be introduced as evidence during his trial. Per Oberhansley’s own request, an insanity defense will not be used and as a result, the state won’t seek the death penalty.

Despite that ruling, his attorneys asked the judge to include some mental health evidence regarding Oberhansley’s competence.
[.....]
In court, Oberhansley’s attorneys said it’s necessary to show the jury that Oberhansley doesn’t understand what’s happening in court.

Rulings on these court motions are expected by the end of the week.

Despite a number of interruptions in court by Oberhansley, the judge said the trial will start Monday, and if he chooses to keep interrupting then, he’ll end up watching his trial instead of being present for it.

 

[Niner]

Monday, August 19th:
*Trial set to begin (@ 9am ET) – IN – Tammy Jo Blanton (46) (Sept. 11, 2014, Jeffersonville) – *Joseph A. Oberhansley (33) arrested (9/11/14) & charged (9/15/14) with murder, burglary & rape. Plead not guilty. Held without bond. DA seeks DP. DA has taken DP off the table (6/28/19).
Trial set for August 19, 2019. Jury will be picked from Hamilton County, trial will be held in Clark County.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Attorneys for 38-year-old Joseph Oberhansley and Clark County prosecutors began selecting jurors Monday in suburban Indianapolis, in the Hamilton County seat of Noblesville.

Oberhansley’s jury selection was moved due to media attention and the extreme charges he faces.

He’s charged with murder, burglary and rape. Prosecutors say Oberhansley broke into the Jeffersonville home of his 46-year-old ex-girlfriend, Tammy Jo Blanton, in September 2014, raped her, fatally stabbed her and ate parts of her body.

The 12 chosen jurors and four alternates will be brought to Jeffersonville in Clark County for the trial and will be sequestered for its duration.

Opening statements are expected to begin Wednesday.
Jury selection begins for man accused of murder, cannibalism | TribLIVE.com

 

[rsd1200]

Very disturbing case.

 

[Niner]

Tuesday, August 20th:
*Trial continues with Jury Selection (Day 2) (@ 9am ET) – IN – Tammy Jo Blanton (46) (Sept. 11, 2014, Jeffersonville) – *Joseph A. Oberhansley (33) arrested (9/11/14) & charged (9/15/14) with murder, burglary & rape. Plead not guilty. Held without bond. DA seeks DP. DA has taken DP off the table (6/28/19).
Trial set for August 19, 2019. Jury will be picked from Hamilton County, trial will be held in Clark County.
8/19/19 Update: Jury selection to begin for 12 jurors & 4 alternates. Jury will be sequestered. Opening statements expected to start Wed., 8/21. Jury selection continues 8/20.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Because of the attention the case garnered in Clark County, which is across the border from Louisville, Kentucky, and is where the killing took place, the jury was being selected in the Indianapolis suburb of Noblesville, which is about 120 miles (193.11 kilometers) north, in Hamilton County. After jury selection is finished, the jurors and alternates will be brought to Clark County and sequestered for the duration of the trial.
Jury Selection Underway in Trial of Man accused of Murder, Cannibalism – WBIW

 

[Niner]

Wednesday, August 21st:
*Trial continues with Jury Selection (Day 3) (@ 9am ET) – IN – Tammy Jo Blanton (46) (Sept. 11, 2014, Jeffersonville) – *Joseph A. Oberhansley (33) arrested (9/11/14) & charged (9/15/14) with murder, burglary & rape. Plead not guilty. Held without bond. DA seeks DP. DA has taken DP off the table (6/28/19).
Trial set for August 19, 2019. Jury will be picked from Hamilton County, trial will be held in Clark County. Jury will be sequestered.
8/19/19 Update: Jury selection to begin for 12 jurors & 4 alternates. Jury will be sequestered. Opening statements expected to start Wed., 8/21. As of Monday evening, eight jurors had been selected. Jury selection continues 8/20.
8/20/19 Update: Judge hopes that by the end of the day (Tuesday), they will have this jury selected and be able to start our proof by Wednesday or Thursday. Jury selection continues on 8/21.



@imstilla.grandma - any updates on jury selection or if trial has started? TIA!

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Jury selection began Monday in the trial of a southern Indiana man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and eating parts of her body nearly five years ago.

After jury selection is finished, the jurors and alternates will be brought to Clark County and sequestered for the duration of the trial.

Opening statements were expected to begin Wednesday and the trial could last up to two weeks, WDRB-TV reported.
https://7news.com.au/news/crime/jur...ling-ex-and-eating-parts-of-her-body-c-411543

 

[Niner]

So do you think opening statements started today? I'll change my notes....

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Jury selection is almost finished in the murder case against a southern Indiana man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and eating parts of her body.

Joseph Oberhansley and his attorneys are in Hamilton County, just north of Indianapolis, with the Clark County prosecution team. The strategy is to select jurors who may be less familiar with what happened in the case than potential jurors from the southern Indiana area.

WAVE 3 News learned Tuesday that 15 of the 16 jurors needed -- 12 jurors and four alternates -- have been picked. Once the final juror is selected Wednesday, the group will travel back down to Jeffersonville to hear the evidence and eventually decide if Oberhansley will be found guilty of murdering Tammy Jo Blanton back in 2014.

If found guilty, Oberhansley could face life in prison without the possibility of parole. As part of an agreement between his attorneys and the prosecutors, Oberhansley will not face the death penalty if he’s convicted.
Oberhansley Trial: Jury selection almost complete in gruesome 2014 cannibalism case

 

[Niner]

Thank you imstilla.grandma!

 

[Niner]

Thursday, August 22nd:
*Trial continues (Day 1) (@ 9am ET) – IN – Tammy Jo Blanton (46) (Sept. 11, 2014, Jeffersonville) – *Joseph A. Oberhansley (33) arrested (9/11/14) & charged (9/15/14) with murder, burglary & rape. Plead not guilty. Held without bond. DA seeks DP. DA has taken DP off the table (6/28/19).
Trial set for August 19, 2019. Jury will be picked from Hamilton County, trial will be held in Clark County. 12 jurors, 4 alternates. Jury will be sequestered.
8/19/19 Day 1 of Jury Selection: State by Mull and Gray, Defendant present in person, in custody w/counsel, Westerfeld, Betteau and Karaffa along w/Jury Expert Heather Pruss. Voir Dire conducted, eight jurors selected & admonished with instructions to return to the Hamilton County Courthouse on 8/20/19. The Court recesses and will commence with voir dire on 8/20/19 at 8:00 a.m.
8/20/19 Day 2 of Jury Selection: Judge hopes that by the end of the day (Tuesday), they will have this jury selected and be able to start our proof by Wednesday or Thursday. 15 of the 16 jurors needed have been selected. Jury selection continues on 8/21.
8/21/19 Day 3: Once the jurors have been selected, they’ll travel to Clark County, where they’ll be sequestered during the trial, which could start with opening statements as soon Thursday, 8/22.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Attorneys for Oberhansley told a judge Wednesday that he’s incompetent to stand trial and continues to distrust them. He was deemed competent last July after spending roughly six months in a psychiatric facility in Indiana, the News and Tribune reports.

“Our client, Mr. Oberhansley, has been exhibiting what we believe is part of his mental illness,” defense attorney Brent Westerfeld later said outside court. “He’s delusional and he remains delusional.”

Oberhansley is facing life in prison without parole if convicted of murder, rape and burglary after stabbing Blanton and eating parts of her. Prosecutors have agreed not to seek the death penalty in the case after Oberhansley’s attorneys agreed to not use an insanity defense, the Courier-Journal reports.

But jurors need to question whether a person who ate parts of his ex-girlfriend is “thinking right,” defense attorney Bart Betteau said Wednesday.

“All I want you to do is to keep an open mind,” Betteau told jurors, adding that more gruesome details in the case will follow. “[The prosecutor] told you about a few statements, select evidence. But there’s going to be a whole lot more.”

Oberhansley’s trial is scheduled to resume early Thursday.
https://nypost.com/2019/08/22/man-butchered-and-ate-ex-girlfriend-who-dumped-him-prosecutor/

 

[YESorNO]

Courtroom Notebook: Inside the Joseph Oberhansley murder trial (with clip)

August 21, 2019

"JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WAVE) – With 12 jurors and four alternates selected in Hamilton County on Monday and Tuesday, the group on Wednesday traveled back down to Clark County to begin the trial of Joseph Oberhansley.

The jury will be sequestered in Clark County, something that’s especially unusual in Clark County. The need to sequester a jury from out of the area arose from the large amount of pre-trial publicity and the need to find a jury that can be fair and impartial in the case....

After opening statements, Carmichael excused the jurors for the day, letting them go get settled in their hotel rooms. Jurors will be sequestered in Clark County until they reach a verdict in the case.

Court proceedings are expected to begin at 8 a.m. Thursday."

Courtroom Notebook: Inside the Joseph Oberhansley murder trial

 

[YESorNO]

Katrina Helmer‏ @KatrinaWDRB Aug 19
Interesting to note with this trial: Typically, reporters are not allowed to have phones or laptops in the courtroom. But Judge Carmichael is allowing them for the sake of note taking and social media.


Katrina Helmer‏ @KatrinaWDRB Aug 19
Video or pictures of any kind are never allowed in Indiana courtrooms, and that still stays the same for this trial. This courthouse has special elevators that will be used to get Oberhansley into the courtroom. So there will be no video of him coming or going.


Katrina Helmer‏ @KatrinaWDRB Aug 19
If you’re wondering why we’re on the northeast side of Indianapolis for this: it was decided in order to find a fair jury, they needed to go outside Clark County. So Hamilton County was selected.


Katrina Helmer‏ @KatrinaWDRB Aug 19
JURY SELECTION DAY 1: The proceedings are starting. Judge Vicki Carmichael has entered the courtroom. And they are bringing in Joseph Oberhansley through a side door. He is wearing a suit, not shackled, and carrying an envelope with him. We are now on the record. @WDRBNews


Katrina Helmer‏ @KatrinaWDRB Aug 19
His attorney is addressing the judge and renewing his motion to withdraw himself. Oberhansley has accused his attorney of misrepresenting him and evidence. The judge has denied that motion. Oberhansley’s attorney is now renewing an old motion regarding Oberhansley’s competency.


Katrina Helmer‏ @KatrinaWDRB Aug 19
Obrhansley’s attorney says it is clear he has a mental illness and that there has been a total breakdown in his competency in the last six weeks. Prosecutor Jeremy Mull argues Oberhansley understands what is happening and the consequences.


Katrina Helmer‏ @KatrinaWDRB Aug 19
The judge says she will note the concern, but deny the motion. She says Oberhansley has made it clear he wants to proceed and go to trial, and is vouching for his own competency.


Katrina Helmer‏ @KatrinaWDRB Aug 19
Oberhansley is now talking to the judge and saying he is concerned evidence will not be brought to light, because he does not trust his attorneys. He says there are expert witnesses he wants to have, but he hasn’t had enough time to come up with a strategy.


Katrina Helmer‏ @KatrinaWDRB Aug 19
Oberhansley asked the judge if she got the letters he sent. He is adamant he does not want his attorneys to defend him by saying he is mentally incompetent. Judge Carmichael said the trial will continue. And reminded Oberhansley he must stay calm, cannot have an outburst.


Katrina Helmer‏ @KatrinaWDRB Aug 19
Judge Carmichael has decided the jury (12 jurors, 4 alternates) will be transported by bus to Clark County & sequestered for the duration of the trial, including weekends. They will have no electronics. Family members can visit Sunday afternoons, monitored by deputies. @WDRBNews


Katrina Helmer‏ @KatrinaWDRB Aug 19
It is expected this trial will last through the end of August or into early September.


Katrina Helmer‏ @KatrinaWDRB Aug 21
The final jury has been seated: 12 jurors & 3 alternates. They were aiming for 4 alternates originally, but both sides agreed to proceed with 3. The jurors are on a bus and on their way to Clark County. Opening statement will start around 1:30pm.

 

[YESorNO]

Katrina Helmer‏ @KatrinaWDRB 22h22 hours ago
TRIAL DAY 3: Joseph Oberhansley just walked in, blaming two black male suspects for his ex-girlfriend’s murder. @WDRBNews

(video clip: Katrina Helmer on Twitter )


Senait Gebregiorgis‏Verified account @SenaitTV 21h21 hours ago
The defendant, Joseph Oberhansley walks into court wearing dress clothes. You can hear him saying, “Prosecutors know I’m not guilty that’s why they dropped the death penalty.” @WHAS11 #OberhansleyTrial

(video clip: Senait Gebregiorgis on Twitter )


Aprile Rickert‏ @Aperoll27 18h18 hours ago
Clark County Prosecutor Jeremy Mull talks to media before opening statements today in the case of Joseph Oberhansley, accused of murder.

(video clip: Aprile Rickert on Twitter )


Aprile Rickert‏ @Aperoll27 18h18 hours ago
Joseph Oberhansley's lead defense, Brent Westerfeld, talked with media about his client's mental issues following opening statements in the Clark County murder trial.

(video clip: Aprile Rickert on Twitter )

 

[YESorNO]

Katrina Helmer‏ @KatrinaWDRB 22h22 hours ago
Judge Vicki Carmichael entered the courtroom & we are on the record. To start, Oberhansley’s attorney (Brent Westerfeld) renewed a previous motion about Oberhansley’s mental condition, his mistrust for his attorneys, & the impact it could have on their ability to represent him.


Katrina Helmer‏ @KatrinaWDRB 22h22 hours ago
All 15 jurors have entered the courtroom. (8 females, 7 males) The one juror who is deaf has two interpreters with him. They have both been instructed to only interpret, they cannot provide opinion.


Katrina Helmer‏ @KatrinaWDRB 22h22 hours ago
All the jurors are now being instructed that while they are sequestered they cannot have any electronic devices, communicate with any parties, or watch/listen/research any details of this case or the trial.


Katrina Helmer‏ @KatrinaWDRB 22h22 hours ago
The judge is now reading through their instructions and the charges: murder, burglary, and rape.


Katrina Helmer‏ @KatrinaWDRB 22h22 hours ago
Clark County Prosecutor Jeremy Mull is is starting opening statements at 3pm. Focusing right now on describing to the jurors who the victim, Tammy Jo Blanton, was and what she was like.


Katrina Helmer‏ @KatrinaWDRB 22h22 hours ago
The jurors are intently watching Mull as he describes the days leading up to Blanton’s murder. As he describes what he says the officers found inside her home (blood, her dismembered body), many of their faces are looking more concerned and shocked.


Katrina Helmer‏ @KatrinaWDRB 21h21 hours ago
When Mull tells the jurors that Oberhansley admits to eating parts of her, that police found evidence of parts of her body in a skillet, and that evidence shows Oberhansley raped her — Oberhansley piped up and said, “Judge I object to that!” Mull continued on. @WDRBNews


Katrina Helmer‏ @KatrinaWDRB 21h21 hours ago
Oberhansley’s attorney Bart Betteau is addressing the jurors with opening statements. Asking them to look at the evidence from all angles. He says the details are graphic and gruesome, but to look at it thinking what is in Oberhansley’s mind at the time.


Katrina Helmer‏ @KatrinaWDRB 21h21 hours ago
Less than 30 mins for prosecution opening statements, 8 mins for the defense. And now the jurors are dismissed until tomorrow morning.