An ex-convict who told cops he fatally stabbed his ex-girlfriend , then cooked and ate some of her organs , may now also be charged with raping her . Joseph Oberhansley , from Jeffersonville , Indiana , is charged with murder and abuse of a corpse in the death of 46-year-old Tammy Jo Harbin Blanton last September . On Tuesday , Clark County Prosecutor Jeremy Mull asked for rape to be added to those charges and a judge will consider the request on May 4 , the Courier-Journal of Louisville reported . The motion to change the charges comes after lab results for the victim 's body were returned . 'Cannibal killer ' : Joseph Oberhansley , who admitted to killing his ex-girlfriend before eating some of her organs last year , could now face a rape charge . Prosecutors say they will recommend the death penalty . Murdered : Tammy Jo Blanton , right , had called police asking for help just hours before she was found dead . Last year , prosecutors said they intended to seek the death penalty in the case . Juries in Indiana can not recommend a death sentence or life without parole unless they agree there is at least one aggravating circumstance beyond a reasonable doubt , the law says . Rape , burglary and dismemberment are among those aggravated circumstances . Oberhansley , now 34 , was convicted of manslaughter in the 1998 shooting death of his then-girlfriend , 17-year-old Sabrina Elder , in Salt Lake City just days after the birth of their son . He served 14 years behind bars for the crime and was discharged from parole on July 23 last year . Convict : In 1998 , Oberhansley , then a teenager , was imprisoned for killing his 17-year-old girlfriend . On July 31 , Tammy Jo Blanton posted his $ 500 bond for charges of criminal recklessness and resisting law enforcement stemming from a car chase . Then on September 11 , she called 911 at around 3am to report that her jilted boyfriend was outside her home and would not leave , according to the probable cause affidavit . Officers arrived on the scene and ordered Oberhansley to leave after Blanton spoke to him outside . At around 10am that morning , police got another call , this time from Blanton 's co-worker , asking them to perform a welfare check after she failed to show up for work . Police found that the back door had been forced open and inside , officers discovered Blanton dead under a tarpaulin in the blood-spattered bathroom of her home , with fatal injuries to her head , neck and torso . 'The front of the victim 's skull appeared to have been crushed and brain tissue appeared scattered around the bathtub , ' the affidavit stated . The statement added that they found a plate covered in blood and bone , as well as bloodied cooking utensils , the Louisville Courier-Journal reported . Scene : Oberhansley allegedly broke down Blanton 's backdoor at her Jeffersonville home , pictured , and then forced his way into her bathroom , where she was hiding , and repeatedly stabbed her . When questioned by police , Oberhansley confessed to forcing his way into the bathroom , where Blanton had locked herself , and repeatedly stabbing her . Oberhansley told police he then used an electric jigsaw to open Blanton 's skull and ate parts of her brain , heart and lungs . The blade was allegedly recovered from the scene after the grisly death . A trial date is expected to be set by the end of April . Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article .
Joseph Oberhansley 'broke into Tammy Jo Blanton 's house last year , stabbed her to death and then cut open her skull with an electric jigsaw ' He 'then cooked up her heart , lungs and brain and ate them ' On Last year , prosecutors asked for rape to be added to the charges against him after results from her body returned from the lab . Tuesday , prosecutors said they expected to seek the death penalty .