(ANGOLA) – Steuben County Circuit Court officials say a murder suspect has agreed to a plea bargain.

Court officials say 30 year old Matthew Hoover of Yorktown, Indiana, plead guilty to murder and burglary charges in the June 2021 stabbing death of 82 year old Wilma Ball at her Lake James home. In exchange for his pleas, the Steuben County Prosecutor’s Office dropped charges of attempted rape and attempted abuse of a corpse.

Court officials say that when the Steuben County Sheriff’s Department and Indiana State Police initially questioned Hoover, he denied being in Ball’s house at 395 Lane 200 East. He also denied killing Ball. Investigators discovered a beer can in Ball’s bedroom that tested positive for Hoover’s DNA.

Hoover was set to go to trial on September 12, after a forensic examination in July determined that he was competent to stand trial.

Hoover is scheduled to be sentenced October 4.