Man who allegedly dismembered his sister, killed unborn child found competent in court

The man accused of dismembering his sister inside a Lakeville home was found competent in Dakota County court on Tuesday.

Jack Ball, 23, is facing two counts of second-degree murder for the death of his sister and her unborn child.

Lawyers for Ball say they still plan to argue mental illness or cognitive impairment in addition to the defense of not guilty.

As previously reported, charging documents state that a woman called the police at around 11 p.m. Thursday, saying she believed her daughter had been killed. When police responded to the home along Encina Path, located in the area of Pilot Knob Road and 170th Street West on the border of Lakeville and Farmington, they went inside and found a large pool of blood in the kitchen and bloody knives and tools.

The 911 caller said her daughter, 30-year-old Bethany Ann Israel, had gone to dinner with her brother, Ball, earlier that night but she got concerned after not hearing from Israel. The woman said she drove to the home, saw Ball quickly leaving and then saw blood upon entering the home.

As officers searched, they found body parts. More were found when another person called 911 saying a man placed what appeared to be a body part on their front step in Rosemount. Ball was found near a shed nearby, covered in blood and near several other body parts, court documents state.

Police later learned that Israel was between 17 and 18 weeks pregnant with her first child.

Journals and handwritten papers belonging to Ball indicated that he was angry his sister was pregnant because she was “no longer innocent,” a criminal complaint states.

RELATED: Friends of Lakeville murder victim, Bethany Israel, say she was ‘a precious soul’

Ball made his first court appearance Tuesday afternoon and had his bail set at $2 million or $1 million with conditions. He’s scheduled to have another hearing on June 10. He still hadn’t been medically cleared to go to jail due to an apparent self-inflicted cut, officials say.

Ball is due back in court on Dec. 12 for an omnibus hearing.