A 24-year-old man pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of first-degree murder for killing his pregnant sister and dismembering her body in his Lakeville townhome in 2024.
Jack Joseph Ball entered the guilty pleas on the same day a court trial was to begin before a Dakota County judge in the killings of 30-year-old Bethany Ann Israel of Bloomington and her unborn child, who was four months along.
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 on Ball’s defense of mental illness is still scheduled for May 21.
If convicted, Ball faces a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. He remains in custody at the Dakota County jail.
Police were called to the home on Encina Path near 170th Street and Pilot Knob Road just before 11 p.m. on May 23, 2024. They saw dismembered body parts believed to be those of Israel and found a saw, hatchet and large knives, all of which were covered in blood.
Jack Joseph Ball (Courtesy of the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office)
Soon after police arrived, a resident in Rosemount reported seeing a man on their home security camera and he placed what appeared to be a body part on their front step.
Law enforcement found Bell in the backyard of a neighboring home. He had a self-inflicted knife wound across his throat and was hospitalized before being jailed.
Police searched the area and found several dismembered body parts believed to be those of Israel.
Investigators later found journals and other writings by Ball. He wrote that he was angry his sister was pregnant and “no longer innocent,” according to the complaint.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Israel’s cause of death was complex homicidal violence and confirmed she was 17 to 18 weeks pregnant.
The baby would have been the first child for Israel and her husband, Josh, who were married in 2021, according to her obituary. They planned to name the boy Levy.
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