Search For Missing Mom Ends After 8-Year-Old Son Makes Admission To School Counselor
Missing Mother Found Dead After 8-Year-Old Son Tells School Counselor About Murder. The search for a missing Indiana mother came to a tragic end after her 8-year-old son told a school counselor that he had seen his father kill her.
Rebecca Ruth Hoover, 38, had been missing since August 2. Her husband, Judson Keith Hoover, 50, filed for divorce the next day. On August 4, Rebecca’s mother reported her missing to police. At the time, there were no immediate signs of foul play.
Weeks later, on August 27, the case took a dramatic turn when Rebecca and Judson’s young son confided in a school counselor. The boy claimed he saw his father stomp on his mother’s head while she was lying in the basement. He described the attack in detail, including blood coming from her head and ear.
Based on the child’s statement, police launched a full investigation. Judson Hoover was questioned the next day when he came to pick up his children. He allowed authorities to search the family’s home, where investigators found blood evidence in the basement.
Hoover later confessed to killing Rebecca and pleaded guilty to murder. He admitted to hiding her body in a 55-gallon container and moving it to a storage unit. Surveillance footage supported this, showing him transporting the container on August 4 — just after police first visited the home.
Rebecca’s body was eventually recovered from a storage facility in Louisville. The medical examiner confirmed that she died from blunt force trauma, matching her son’s account.
Judson Hoover was arrested, charged, and sentenced to 65 years in prison. Officials stated that his guilty plea was made in part to spare his son from having to testify in court.
