LAKEVILLE, Minn. (FOX 9) - A man was sentenced Thursday afternoon after he dismembered his pregnant sister, killing both her and her unborn child in Lakeville in May 2024.
Jack Ball sentenced to prison
What we know:
Jack Josepeh Ball, 25, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after he was found guilty of first-degree murder in connection to the death of his pregnant sister, Bethany Ann Israel, and her unborn child.
Ball will serve his life sentence at Minnesota Correctional Facility — St. Cloud.
The sentencing comes after Ball was found guilty of first-degree murder in a two-phase trial. Ball pleaded guilty in January to two counts of first-degree premeditated murder during the first phase. In the second phase, he attempted a mental illness defense, which the judge rejected.
Mental illness defense rejected
Dig deeper:
According to court documents, the judge determined Ball knew he was committing a crime and understood his actions were wrong.
Court documents filed on Tuesday describe how Ball allegedly spent months planning the murder, deliberately arranged for his sister to visit his home when they would be alone and hid weapons within the house before she arrived.
"In his journals, [Ball] fantasized repeatedly about killing, dismembering, along with engaging in necrophilia and cannibalism," the judge wrote. "[Ball] explained later that he enjoyed the process of journaling as it helped him think things through. This is evident by the detailed plans for murder that are found in his journals and the fact that he acted in accordance with those plans on May 23, 2024."
The ruling acknowledged Ball's diagnoses of mental illness and autism spectrum disorder but concluded they did not meet the legal standard for the defense.
"The evidence overwhelmingly establishes that [Ball] understood the wrongfulness of the act when he killed Ms. Israel and her unborn child," the judge wrote.
Pregnant sister's murder
The backstory:
Court documents say that Israel, 30, went to Ball's home in Lakeville for dinner on May 23, 2024.
Israel's mother became worried after she did not hear from her daughter, and drove to the home to check on her. She saw Ball leaving the home before finding a large amount of blood inside.
According to the charges, officers found a large pool of blood on the kitchen floor in addition to a "bloody saw, hatchet, and large, bloody, knives."
Authorities reported finding "several dismembered body parts" in the home and located another bloody knife on the living room floor.
During a search of the house, authorities found several journals and documents allegedly belonging to Ball. In those, Ball expressed his anger that Israel was pregnant and "no longer innocent," the charges read.
Ball was eventually found by authorities in the backyard of a residence after receiving a 911 caller reporting seeing a man on their Ring camera placing a body part on the front step.
After responding to the area, officers eventually found Ball in the backyard of a residence "covered in blood" and a "self-inflicted knife wound across his throat," court documents said. Several body parts were found in the area.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Israel’s cause of death as "complex homicidal violence," and her manner of death was ruled a homicide.
She was between 17 and 18 weeks pregnant at the time of her death, according to court records.
The Source: Court documents and past FOX 9 reporting.