A Lakeville man has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for murdering his pregnant sister and dismembering her body inside his townhome in 2024. Jack Joseph Ball, now 25, was sentenced on two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the May 23, 2024, death of 30-year-old Bethany Ann Israel of Bloomington, who was between 17 and 18 weeks pregnant at the time.
The sentence, announced by the Dakota County Attorney's Office, came after a case that unfolded over nearly two and a half years and included a disputed account of how Ball's guilt was formally established. According to CBS News, the county attorney's office says Ball first pleaded guilty, on January 21, 2026, to one count of premeditated first-degree murder and one count of premeditated first-degree murder of an unborn child. But Twin Cities Pioneer Press reported that a judge on October 20 found the 25-year-old guilty of two counts of first-degree premeditated murder, issuing the formal guilty verdict that week. The dossier does not reconcile these two accounts, and both are presented here as reported.
Ball was initially charged with two counts of second-degree murder before a Dakota County grand jury indicted him on two counts of premeditated first-degree murder and two counts of intentional second-degree murder, per the same reporting. He went on to assert a defense of mental illness, but the judge rejected it, finding that Ball had not met his burden of proving the defense, according to the county attorney's office.
A Dinner Visit That Ended in Tragedy
Court documents cited by the Pioneer Press say Israel had gone to her brother's Lakeville home for dinner on May 23, 2024. When she did not return home, her family grew concerned, the documents state. A relative who went to check on her saw Ball leaving the home and discovered a large amount of blood inside, according to the criminal complaint.
Police who responded found dismembered body parts believed to belong to Israel, along with a saw, hatchet and large knives, all covered in blood, the Pioneer Press reported. CBS News similarly reported that an officer who arrived at the scene found bloody knives and several dismembered body parts inside the home.
Rosemount Sighting Led Police to Ball
As the search for Ball unfolded, police spotted his vehicle in nearby Rosemount. A Rosemount resident separately reported seeing, via a home security camera, a man place what appeared to be a body part on their front step, according to court documents. Ball was ultimately found by police in a neighboring backyard, suffering from an apparent self-inflicted wound to his neck, CBS News reported.
What Minnesota Law Requires
Under Minnesota Revisor of Statutes Section 609.106, courts must sentence a person convicted of qualifying first-degree murder to life imprisonment without the possibility of release, with one specified statutory exception. A separate statute, Section 609.2661, provides that a person who causes the death of an unborn child with premeditation and intent to cause death is guilty of first-degree murder of an unborn child and must be sentenced to life imprisonment, according to the Minnesota Revisor of Statutes.
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