LAKEVILLE, Minn. (TCN) — A 24-year-old man has pleaded guilty to murder in the deaths of his older sister and her unborn baby in May 2024.
The Dakota County Attorney’s Office announced Jack Joseph Ball pleaded guilty Jan. 21 to premeditated first-degree murder and premeditated first-degree murder of an unborn child. He had been indicted by a grand jury on Jan. 9, 2025, on two counts of premeditated first-degree murder and two counts of intentional second-degree murder.
Law & Crime reports the second-degree murder charges were dropped and prosecutors recommended that Ball serve a life sentence as part of his plea deal.
On May 23, 2024, 30-year-old Bethany Ann Israel went to Ball’s home for dinner. When other family members had not heard from her in several hours, they became concerned, the county attorney’s office said in a statement after Ball’s indictment. Their mother drove to the house to check on her and Ball reportedly fled when she arrived. When she entered the home, she found a large amount of blood and called 911.
People reports police arriving at the scene found bloody knives and dismembered body parts.
The county attorney’s office said police received a 911 call soon after from a neighbor who saw a man put a body part on his front steps. Police then found Ball in the backyard of a nearby home with a self-inflicted knife wound on his neck.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by People, an investigation found Ball’s journal with an entry stating that he wanted to kill his sister because she was pregnant and therefore no longer innocent.
According to the county attorney’s office, Israel was between 17 and 18 weeks pregnant at the time of her death.
A GoFundMe set up by Israel’s family described her as someone with a “radiant spirit and unwavering kindness,” Law & Crime reports.
According to the county attorney’s office, Ball has asserted a defense of mental illness. His trial is scheduled for May 21 and the state will litigate his defense. If Ball is convicted, he faces life imprisonment. He remains in custody at the Dakota County Jail.
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