A horrific incident has come to light in Minnesota, where a Lakeville man brutally murdered his pregnant sister and dismembered her body into pieces. The reason behind the murder is even more astonishing.
Jack Joseph Ball, 24, believed that his sister, Bethany Ann Israel, 30, was ‘no longer innocent’ as she got pregnant with her husband, Josh Israel’s baby, which is why he decided to kill her on May 23, 2024.
On the fateful night, Israel arrived at Ball’s house on the 1700 block of Ecina Path in Lakeville to have dinner. She was more than four months pregnant at the time.
In May 2024, 30-year-old Bethany Ann Israel and her unborn child were allegedly murdered by her brother, 23-year-old Jack Joseph Ball, who reportedly believed she was “no longer innocent.” Ball is also accused of dism*mbering her body.
Authorities discovered Bethany’s… pic.twitter.com/OQFZvONywW
— Morbid Knowledge (@MorbidKnowledge) November 29, 2024
After she failed to answer her mother’s repeated calls for hours, the mother went to the house to check on her children. When she reached the scene, the mother saw her son, Ball, running out of the house.
As she headed inside, she was terrified to see a pool of blood and immediately called 911. The emergency services then arrived and found blood all over the kitchen.
The officers also discovered hatchets and knives in the house. They eventually saw Israel’s dismembered body on the second floor. Meanwhile, Ball was on the run, scattering his sister’s body parts around the neighborhood.
A Rosemount resident saw him placing an organ on their front step through a home security camera and called the police. The call helped the police track Ball in the neighborhood. He was also covered in blood as he had a self-inflicted knife wound to his neck.
The man was rushed to the hospital before being taken into custody. The motive behind the killing came out when the police found Ball’s journals in his house.
Multiple writings revealed that he was ‘angry’ at Israel because he thought she was not innocent anymore due to her pregnancy. Ball was then presented in court, and his defense cited that he was suffering from mental illness, which led to the crime.
In January 2025, a jury indicted him on the charges of premeditated first-degree murder, premeditated first-degree murder of an unborn child, and intentional second-degree murder.
In January 26, Ball pleaded guilty to the first two charges. He is currently being held at the Dakota County Jail, and his trial is set for May 21, 2026. The accused faces a life-imprisonment sentence based on the plea deal.
A 24-year-old Minnesota man has admitted to killing his pregnant sister, then dismembering her body and dispersing her remains across multiple locations, telling investigators he believed her pregnancy meant she was “no longer innocent.”
Jack Joseph Ball of Lakeville pleaded… pic.twitter.com/qevOOfUdEu
— 🅽🅴🆁🅳🆈, 🅴🆂🆀 (@Nerdy_Addict) January 26, 2026
Shortly after the murder, a GoFundMe campaign was organized to support Israel’s family during their time of grief, with donations going to her husband.
The campaign has raised more than $47k at the time of writing. Meanwhile, even investigators are disturbed by the case’s details.
Kathy Keena, Dakota County Attorney, said in a statement, “The allegations in this case are deeply disturbing and horrific — words can’t describe what our law enforcement partners encountered during the investigation.”
The attorney added, “My office will work hard to ensure the victims receive justice and will provide the necessary support for the victim’s family.”
