Joseph Oberhansley, Cannibal Murderer Sentenced To Life Without Parole
When we cover cases, the term “fell through the cracks” comes up a lot. Most of the time, it refers to a lack of protection for an abused child or a victim of domestic violence. We saw “a fall through the cracks” with the case of Gabriel Fernandez, the little boy who was tortured and eventually murdered by his mother and her boyfriend, allegedly because they thought the 8 year old was gay. Gabriel suffered every single day that he spent in their care and child protective services, while involved, did pretty much nothing to help him.
The case I’m talking about today was also a “fall through the cracks” situation, but this is one in which an extremely dangerous man slipped through the cracks in the legal system several times and how it all ended was heinous. If you missed Fancy’s True Crime Tidbit on this case, here’s what she had to say:
“Today, I’m going to talk about a case, where a teenager committed a horrific crime and because of the circumstances in his life, he was given little more than a slap on the wrist. This allowed him to eventually go free and continue to slip through cracks in the legal system for a couple of years until he was arrested for another serious crime in 2014.
In May 1999, The Deseret News in Utah, reported on 18 year old Joseph Oberhansley and his preliminary hearing. They reported that on December 9, 1998, Joseph, 17 at the time, went to the home of his grandmother, Norma Dodge and opened fire in her living room. He shot several times at his 17 year old ex-girlfriend, Sabrina Elder, who had given birth to his son just a few days earlier. When Joseph’s mother, Brenda Self, attempted to help Sabrina, she was shot in the back and the arm. Joseph’s teenage sister kept the newborn baby safe while her brother was shooting in the house. Norma Dodge, the grandmother, ran from the kitchen into the living room at this point and she witnessed Joseph turn the gun on himself and pull the trigger. Sabrina Elder died and Joseph and his mother survived.
Joseph Oberhansley had a new girlfriend, Amanda Thomas, at the time of the shooting. Amanda testified about her relationship with Joseph. She said that they used drugs together regularly and that while they were high, Joseph would sometimes complain about his situation with Elder. He told Amanda that he was angry with her, he didn’t believe the baby was his and he was mad that Elder was staying with his family in his grandmother’s home. He also had said at times that he wanted to kill Elder, but Thomas said she didn’t take it seriously, thinking it was the drugs talking.
In 1997, Joseph’s brother committed suicide and a few weeks later his father died under suspicious circumstances. During his preliminary hearing, Oberhansley’s family testified about what happened during the shooting and the drug use and changes in his behavior after losing both his father and brother. His lawyer Ron Yengich also focused on his suffering, drug use and the way he was affected by all of it as well as the possibility that the bullet that remained in his head would leave him calmer and less aggressive.
One of the interesting things here is that Oberhansley’s mother had forgiven him for shooting her and was paying for his defense and she and his grandmother really didn’t want to cooperate in the investigation. Joseph Oberhansley was originally charged with 1st degree murder, but the prosecutors ended up agreeing to a plea bargain because of these circumstances and Oberhansley, with a bullet still lodged in his head, plead guilty to manslaughter and attempted murder instead. The Deseret News quoted defense attorney Yengich as saying “This was not an intentional act,” “All of the stressors involved in Joseph’s life at the time led up to this. It is likely that outside of those factors this never would have happened.”
On March 13th, 2000, 3rd District Judge Judith Atherton sentenced Oberhansley to one to 15 years in prison on each count, to run concurrently instead of consecutively. She also ordered him to pay $4,000 restitution and a $5,000 fine. Oberhansley expressed remorse and asked for forgiveness for what he had done, saying “I’d give my life for hers,” “I will take responsibility for my acts, not only today but for every day until I die.” But Sabrina Elder’s grandfather, Alfred Irmer, didn’t seem to believe a word Oberhansley said, stating after the sentencing “He’s going to get out in five to seven years to do it again” and “They didn’t give us our day in court.”
After spending just 12 years in a Utah prison, on July 12th, 2012, Joseph Oberhansley, was released on parole. WFPL.com reported that due to an Interstate Compact parole agreement, Oberhansley was able to relocate from Utah to Indiana to live with family while he was on parole. During the time he was on parole, he had several interactions with Indiana law enforcement. Court records show that in March 2013, he was charged with strangulation and resisting law enforcement. He was released on a $1,000 bond. In May 2013 he was convicted of speeding. A year later he was charged with driving with a suspended license and that charge was later dismissed. In July 2014, he was charged with criminal recklessness committed with a deadly weapon and resisting law enforcement. He was released that time on a $500 cash bond. It’s been said that none of these arrests or convictions were reported to the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole. However, authorities in Indiana deny this and say that they reported everything on Oberhansley’s arrests and convictions to Utah. Regardless of where the blame should fall, Joseph Oberhansley was a free man.
He had been dating a woman named Tammy Jo Blanton, who was 46 years old. People.com reported that on the night of September 10th, 2014, Blanton had spoken to her friend Tessa Shepherd on the phone. According to Shepherd, Blanton told her that she had broken up with Joseph Oberhansley and changed her locks. Shepherd also said that Blanton had confided in her that the weekend before, Oberhansley had repeatedly raped her.
At 3AM on September 11th, 2014, Tammy Jo Blanton called 911 because Oberhansley was banging on her door and wouldn’t leave. Police arrived and made Oberhansley leave. At some point he returned. When police arrived the next morning, responding to a call for a welfare check on Blanton, Oberhansley was outside and according to officers, he was nervous and refused to let them pat him down. They eventually found a bloody knife in his pocket.
When they entered Blanton’s home, they found signs of forced entry and a trail of blood. That trail led to the bathroom where Tammy’s mutilated body was found in the bathtub. She had been raped and stabbed at least 25 times. It’s alleged that Oberhansley used an electric saw to dismember her. Clark County Prosecutor Jeremy Mull would later describe the scene as worse than anything you’d see in a horror movie. He also told People.com that Oberhansley allegedly confessed to cooking and eating parts of Blanton’s heart, lungs and brain. Her blood was found on a jigsaw, frying pan, tongs, nail clippers and a knife. Joseph Oberhansley was arrested on the morning of September 11th, 2014 and charged with murder, burglary and rape.
Joseph Oberhansley was deemed incompetent to stand trial in 2017 but that decision was reversed in 2018 and his trial began in 2019. Clark County Circuit Judge Vicki Carmichael had ruled that Oberhansley’s previous time in prison and history of drug use was inadmissible at trial, but the 3rd witness called by the prosecution, Blanton’s friend Donna Victoria took the stand and spoke about both. This led to Judge Carmichael declaring a mistrial.
On September 11th, 2020, exactly 6 years after Tammy Jo Blanton was murdered, Oberhansley’s new trial began. During this trial, Oberhansley took the stand in his own defense and changed his original story, claiming that “2 black guys” had been in Blanton’s home when he arrived that night, they knocked him out and murdered Tammy Jo.
The jury obviously didn’t buy most of it because CrimeOnline reported that on Friday, September 18th, Oberhansley was found guilty of murder and burglary but he was acquitted on the rape charge. Oberhansley’s lawyer claimed his client suffers from mental illness and asked for a lesser sentence. During the sentencing hearing, a psychiatrist testified to finding bizarre behavior in Oberhansley in 2014. He said that Oberhansley exhibited signs of mental illness, hallucinations, and extreme weight loss, which improved after he took prescribed medication. Two court-appointed physicians also evaluated Oberhansley and found no signs of insanity.
Joseph Oberhansley was facing life in prison without parole and his sentencing began on Monday, September 21st. According to newsandtribune.com, “the purpose of this hearing is for attorneys to make their cases to the jury regarding any mitigating or aggravating factors in the case. On Monday night, wave3.com reported that the jury that convicted Joseph Oberhansley recommended a sentence of life in prison without parole.”
Now that you know a bit more about the case, what do you think? Should Oberhansley have been serving life in prison for the 1st murder he committed? Once he was released from prison he began to show a pattern of disturbing behavior, based on the other arrests that we know about. Yet, none of these incidents led to his parole being revoked. he was released each and every time he was arrested while still on parole. We say fell through the cracks, but these cracks seem more like gaping faults in the earth. I mean, seriously, how the hell does stuff like this happen? This case makes me so angry because there were numerous chances to prevent a second murder from ever happening, but nothing was ever done to stop Joseph Oberhansley.
I love to hear from you, so let me know what you think in the comments below. For more true crime head on over to our Youtube channel, Murder By Design and our podcast, The Good Wives Guide To True Crime.
Originally published at http://madgingerentertainment.com.
