Southern Indiana man pleads guilty to murdering missing wife

NEW ALBANY, Ind. (AP) - A southern Indiana man pleaded guilty to murder Thursday in the slaying of his wife whose body was found this week more than three weeks after she was reported missing.

During his initial court hearing, Judson Hoover, 50 of New Albany, said he wanted to enter the plea so one of his children, who witnessed the killing, would not have to testify at a trial.

Hoover was arrested Monday in connection with the death of 38-year-old Rebecca Ruth Hoover. Her body was found that day in a storage unit in Louisville, Kentucky.

Rebecca Hoover's disappearance had been reported by a family member Aug. 4, New Albany Police Chief Todd Bailey said. Court records show that on Aug. 27, one of the couple's children reported to school officials seeing Judson Hoover kill Rebecca Hoover in the basement of their home. When he arrived at school to pick up his children, he gave investigators consent to search the home, the News and Tribune reported.

Police found blood spatter at the bottom of the home's basement stairs. Also, surveillance footage showed Judson Hoover move a 55-gallon container from a storage unit on Aug. 28. On Monday, police executed a search warrant on a second storage unit in Louisville, where they found the woman's body.

An autopsy showed she died from blunt force trauma to the head and torso.