LAKEVILLE, Minn. (Court TV) — A Minnesota man pleaded guilty to murdering his pregnant sister and her unborn child, but will face a trial on his mental illness defense.
Jack Joseph Ball, 24, pleaded guilty to premeditated first-degree murder and premeditated first-degree murder of an unborn child last week, prosecutors announced.
Jack Ball, seen here in booking photos, is accused of killing his sister and her unborn child. (Dakota County Sheriff’s Office)
Ball was accused of killing his sister, Bethany Ann Israel, 30, and dismembering her body in his Lakeville home on May 23, 2024. Israel was around 18 weeks pregnant at the time of her death, according to a medical examiner.
According to the criminal complaint, the victim’s mother called police just after 11 p.m. on May 23, saying that her daughter had gone to have dinner with her brother at a home in Lakeville, but failed to return home. When the mother went to the residence to investigate, she told police she saw Ball and “he just tore out of the house.” When she approached the residence, she saw blood and feared for her daughter’s life.
MORE | Police: Brother dismembered pregnant sister, left parts on front step
When police arrived, they found a large pool of blood on the kitchen floor and on the cabinets. They also found a bloody saw, a hatchet and large knives covered in blood. While looking through the home, they also found “several dismembered body parts” believed to belong to Israel.
Police began to search the area and surrounding communities for Ball, and while doing so received another 911 call from a resident who saw the suspect placing “what appeared to be a body part” on their front step. Police confirmed there was a body part left outside the home and found Ball nearby, covered in blood. Investigators also found other body parts near the property.
According to a press release, “Ball has asserted a defense of mental illness. Minnesota law states that a person is not criminally responsible if a mental illness made the person unable to understand what they were doing or know that it was wrong at the time the offense was committed. A court trial is scheduled for May 21 at 9 a.m., where the state will litigate Ball’s defense of mental illness.”
If convicted, Ball faces life in prison.
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