Greenwood rape trial begins

FRANKLIN, Ind. (WISH) - The jury trial for convicted rapist Shawn Corbally began in Johnson County Tuesday morning.

“We are going to prove Corbally was the one who raped our victim in this case,” said Johnson County Prosecutor Brad Cooper.

Corbally faces numerous charges in the July 2012 rape of a Greenwood mother of two .

Police say Corbally entered the woman’s apartment and then raped her at knifepoint while threatening to harm the woman’s two children if she resisted.

The victim was the first person to testify in the trial. She talked in detail about the attack — the same details she had shared with 24-Hour News 8 three weeks after the rape .

"He put his hand over my mouth and had the knife to my throat, and he said, 'Do you feel this knife right here? Do you want your baby girl to die?' And she (the victim's daughter) was laying in bed right there with me.  I couldn't believe that this was real," said the 34-year-old Johnson County woman.

Corbally has a number of tattoos on his body. His left arm from wrist to shoulder is covered in ink. In court the victim testified about tattoos she remembered from the night of the attack.

Other witnesses who took the stand Tuesday morning included the victim’s boyfriend and the nurse who examined the victim and completed the rape test kit. 

During opening arguments, the defense team said they would question how the DNA evidence was handled in the case.

“They (will) hear evidence with regard to some chain of custody issues regarding to the DNA,” said defense attorney Carrie Miles.

The prosecution planned to call several police investigators to testify Tuesday. Wednesday, a DNA expert will be called to the stand.

Corbally faces up to 340 years in prison if found guilty on all counts.

He was convicted of rape in 2000 and released from prison in 2012. He is listed on the Indiana sex offender registry as a "violent predator."

The 12 jurors and two alternates are all from Monroe County. They are being bused to and from the Johnson County Courthouse each day.