Man Admits Killing, Dismembering His Pregnant Sister, Claiming She Was ‘No Longer Innocent’ By Sean Neumann

A Minnesota man pleaded guilty this month to killing and dismembering his pregnant sister after once telling police he decided to murder her because she was “no longer innocent.”

Dakota County Attorney Kathy Keena announced last Wednesday that ​Jack Joseph Ball had pleaded guilty to killing his sister Bethany Ann Israel and her unborn child in late May 2024.

Ball, 24, pleaded guilty to counts for premeditated first-degree murder and premeditated first-degree murder of an unborn child, Keena announced. The convicted murderer may now serve life in prison, according to the county attorney’s office.

PEOPLE previously reported that officers found pieces of Israel’s body strewn across two bloody scenes the night of May 23, 2024, after the family alerted authorities once they became concerned that the expecting mother hadn’t come home from a dinner she had planned with her brother.

Police responding to the home where Ball and his sister had dinner allegedly found bloody knives and dismembered body parts belonging to Israel. Ball had been seen by a family member fleeing the scene, leading officers to find him bloodied at another location with more of his sister’s body parts and a wound on his neck that appeared to be self-inflicted.

Investigators claimed they found journals written by Ball that said he wanted to kill his sister because he believed she was “no longer innocent,” per a criminal complaint reviewed by PEOPLE at the time of his arrest.

Israel was between 17 and 18 weeks pregnant at the time of her and her unborn child’s murders, a medical examiner had determined, according the criminal complaint.

Kenna had called the case “deeply disturbing and horrific” at the time. “Words can’t describe what our law enforcement partners encountered during the investigation,” the county attorney added.

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Israel’s family remembered her in a GoFundMe at the time as “a cherished wife, daughter, sister, and an expectant mother” who was “also a beloved figure in the volleyball community.”

“Bethany’s radiant spirit and unwavering kindness touched the lives of all who had the privilege of knowing her,” the family said. “Her love for life, her family, and the friendships she nurtured are the legacies she leaves behind. As a beacon of warmth and generosity, Bethany’s absence leaves a void that cannot be filled.”

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Last week, the county attorney said that Ball “has asserted a defense of mental illness” and will stand trial in late May 2026 “where the State will litigate Ball’s 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,” Keena noted.

If convicted at that trial, Ball will face a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment, the county attorney added. 

Ball remains in custody at the Dakota County Jail.