*Note: This story originally made headlines in September 2020.*
A tragic and disturbing case out of New Albany, Indiana, took a grim turn when **50-year-old Judson Keith Hoover** pleaded guilty to murdering his wife, **38-year-old Rebecca Ruth Hoover**, just hours after being formally charged.
Rebecca had been missing since **August 2nd**, and Judson filed for divorce the next day—though investigators believe she was already dead by then. The crime came to light weeks later when the couple’s **eight-year-old son** told a school counselor he had witnessed his father kill his mother.
According to court documents, the child described seeing Judson **stomp on Rebecca’s head multiple times** while she lay unresponsive in their basement. He also recalled his father punching her in the stomach with a set of keys. The boy’s testimony spurred an investigation that uncovered blood evidence in the home and ultimately led police to Rebecca’s body.
Judson later admitted to **strangling Rebecca** and leaving her in the basement, although the medical examiner determined her cause of death was **blunt force trauma to the head and torso**, consistent with the child’s account. Authorities also reported signs of **post-mortem mutilation**, though Judson claimed he didn’t remember doing that.
Surveillance footage from a nearby **storage facility** showed Judson moving what appeared to be a body shortly after police first visited their home. Days later, he returned to the unit with a **55-gallon container**, further incriminating himself.
Hoover’s decision to plead guilty was made, in part, to spare his son from testifying in court. He was immediately taken into custody and now awaits sentencing.