ANGOLA, IND. (WTVB) – The suspect in the June 2021 murder of a Lake James woman entered into a plea bargain agreement on Tuesday in Steuben County Circuit Court.
A court spokesperson says 30-year-old Matthew Roland Hoover of Yorktown, Indiana entered guilty pleas to murder and burglary in connection with the stabbing death of 82-year-old Wilma Ball.
In exchange for his pleas, prosecutors will drop charges of attempted rape and attempted abuse of a corpse.
Judge Allen Wheat took the plea agreement under advisement and scheduled a sentencing hearing for October 4.
According to Steuben County court documents, Hoover at first denied in an interview with Sheriff’s Department and Indiana State Police investigators he had been in the victim’s home at 395 Lane 200 East and that he did not kill Ball.
But according to an affidavit, police discovered a beer can on a nightstand in Ball’s bedroom and a test at the Indiana State Police lab found it had Hoover’s DNA on it.
Following a forensic examination, it was determined last month that Hoover was competent to stand trial.
He was scheduled to go on trial September 12. Court officials blocked off five days on the calendar for the trial.
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