A southern Indiana man accused of killing his former girlfriend and eating parts of her body in 2014 will undergo psychiatric evaluations, despite his insistence that he's competent for trial.
Defense lawyers said Joseph Oberhansley, 35, can't consult with them or understand court proceedings.
Clark County Circuit Court Judge Vicki Carmichael this week granted their request for three separate evaluations by medical professionals selected by the court.
The evaluations may be completed within 30 days, after which medical professionals will offer testimony at a hearing to help Carmichael decide if Oberhandsley is competent for trail.
A review hearing is scheduled for April 10.
Oberhansley, of Jeffersonville, Indiana, told the judge that he is "completely innocent of all of these false charges" and is "completely competent", the Courier-Journal reports.
Oberhansley is charged with murder, rape and abuse of a corpse in the September 2014 slaying of 46-year-old Tammy Jo Blanton.At Clark County Jail, where Oberhansley is being held, he has been classified as having a severe psychological disorder.
According to court documents, Oberhansley told police he broke into Blanton's Jeffersonville home, on September 11, 2014, killed her, then ate her heart and parts of her brain and lung.
If convicted, he could be sentenced to death.
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