By Mitchell Banks | The Tribune
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The trial of a man accused of disfiguring a woman during an incident in the summer of 2019 is set to begin this morning with jury selection in Jackson Circuit Court in Brownstown.

Matthew Scott Gillaspy, 45, of Seymour initially faced a preliminary Level 5 felony charge of burglary and preliminary Level 6 felony charges of strangulation and domestic battery after the incident reported Aug. 19 of that year.

The charges were later amended to a Level 1 felony count of aggravated battery inflicting injury that causes permanent disfigurement and a Level 4 felony count of burglary of a dwelling after review by the prosecutor’s office by Senior Prosecutor David Owen Thomas.

The incident that led to the charges began when a woman called Seymour dispatch reporting she had woken up at 2 a.m. and found Gillaspy had broken into her West Fifth Street home. She also told police he was standing in her bedroom.

The woman said at one point, Gillaspy put a plastic bag over her head and she started to scream.

Gillaspy then fled from the home before police arrived. He was arrested at a home on Elizabeth’s Way in Seymour.

On Dec. 12, 2019, Gillaspy posted a $100,000 cash bond and was released.

A Level 1 felony carries a prison sentence of 20 to 40 years with an advisory sentence of 30 years if convicted.