LAKEVILLE, Minn. (TCD) — A 23-year-old man is in custody on suspicion of killing his 30-year-old sister and her unborn child last week because the woman was “no longer innocent.”
According to the Dakota County Attorney’s Office, on Thursday, May 23, family members became concerned when Bethany Israel failed to return home after having dinner with her brother. A relative drove to a home and saw that Israel’s brother, Jack Ball, “quickly” left the scene.
The family member reportedly entered the residence, observed a large amount of blood, and called law enforcement.
Lakeville Police responded at around 11 p.m. and recovered bloody knives and “several dismembered body parts they believed to belong to Ms. Israel.” According to a complaint, officers also found a bloody saw and hatchet.
As officers searched for Ball, dispatchers received a call from a Rosemount resident who stated they saw someone through their home camera system placing a body part on their front step. The complaint says officers responded to the scene and located a dismembered body part at the home.
Police reportedly found Ball in the backyard of a nearby residence with an apparent self-inflicted knife injury to his neck. According to the complaint, officers also discovered several dismembered body parts they believe belonged to Israel.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Israel died of “complex homicidal violence,” and she was around 17 to 18 weeks pregnant at the time of her death.
In recovered journals and writings, Ball allegedly wrote he was upset that his sister was pregnant and “no longer innocent.”
The attorney’s office charged Ball with two counts of second-degree murder. Dakota County Attorney Kathy Keena called the man’s alleged crimes “deeply disturbing and horrific.”
Ball was transported to a hospital and appeared in court via video conferencing on May 28. A judge set his bail at $2 million, and he will be booked into the Dakota County Jail upon his release.