A southern Indiana man who was sentenced to 65 years in prison last year for killing his wife and dismembering and hiding her body has asked the Indiana Supreme Court to review his sentence.

Judson K. Hoover’s petition to the state’s high court comes after the Indiana Court of Appeals in September upheld the New Albany man’s sentence in the killing of Rebecca Ruth Hoover, citing in part his history of domestic violence, the News and Tribune reported.

Hoover, 51, had pleaded guilty to murder in his 38-year-old wife’s death and was sentenced to the maximum possible sentence.
Rebecca Hoover’s body was found in August 2020 in a storage unit in Louisville, Kentucky.

In his petition filed this month with the state Supreme Court, Hoover’s attorneys argue in part that it was an outlier for the trial court to give him the maximum sentence, given his character before the killing.

“”…Judson’s character is truly revealed by his willingness to plead guilty the same day the murder charge was filed,” the petition read, in part. “This extraordinary act demonstrated that Judson was willing to sacrifice his own freedom for the benefit of his family.”

The high court has not yet filed a decision on whether it will hear Hoover’s case. According to online records from the Indiana Department of Correction, Hoover’s earliest expected prison release date is May 31, 2069.