NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) -- It's back to the drawing board again in the case of accused murderer Joseph Oberhansley.
During jury selection Wednesday, Judge Vicki Carmichael granted a motion to end the proceedings and move the trial from Hamilton County, Indiana, to another county. The trial has now been rescheduled for January or February 2020.
Judge Carmichael made the decision after the defense argued that jurors were being eliminated so rapidly that they would run out of potential jurors in the jury pool before everyone could be seated. Finding someone who hadn't heard about Oberhansley, who is accused of killing ex-girlfriend, Tammy Jo Blanton, in her Jeffersonville, Indiana, home and eating parts of her organs in September 2014, proved to be too difficult.
Tammy Jo Blanton was killed in her home in Jeffersonville, Ind. on Sept. 11, 2014. (WDRB file photo)
A total of 75 potential jurors were scheduled to show up Wednesday, but there were 19 late deferrals and six no shows. That left the pool of potential jurors at 50. At the time of the motion, 31 out of 75 potential jurors had already been excused.
If a jury had been seated, they would have been bused to Clark County for the trial, where they would remain sequestered until it concluded. That includes weekends.
"I would love to have it finished and have it finished now, but what's more important to me is having a verdict that's going to stand and not get overturned," Clark County Prosecutor Jeremy Mull said.
Related Stories:
- New trial date set in Oberhansley murder case
- Judge declares mistrial in Oberhansley murder case
- Accused killer Joseph Oberhansley tells reporters he's not guilty hours after jury chosen in trial
- Jury in murder trial for Joseph Oberhansley to be sequestered
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