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Post by Kate on Oct 1, 2023 13:22:29 GMT -5
It's kind of strange that you say that because I know people in Bardstown and they're all saying basically the same thing. They think if she was killed by Brooks Houck that it was accidental. Like the original article in this thread says, the people of Bardstown are divided on what happened. From what I hear, the folks there are all very gossipy and quarrelsome and they just can't seem to get along. The people I know say there's always something going on that has everyone arguing and feuding. It really is a rotten place. |
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Post by Graveyardbride on Oct 5, 2023 21:08:56 GMT -5
Prosecutor Drops Bombshell During Brooks Houck Arraignment
During the arraignment of Brooks Houck, who entered a plea of not guilty, Special Prosecutor Shane Young dropped a bombshell, claiming Houck’s family could be linked to the shooting of Tommy Ballard. Apparently, Brooks Houck’s brother, Nick Houck, a former Bardstown police office, sold a firearm using a fake name and it is now being tested to see if it can be linked to the November 2016 killing of the father of Crystal Rogers. Ballard was spending every spare moment searching for his daughter’s body.
The prosecutor also revealed that members of the Houck family had secretly recorded grand jury proceedings.
Brian Butler, Houck’s attorney, requested the $10 million bail be lowered to a $500,000 cash bond and that his client be fitted with a GPS monitoring device. He argued the Defendant is a low flight-risk because of his ties to the community, including his son and business. “He cannot and will not leave,” the lawyer assured the court.
Young countered, saying the high bond is fair because companies owned by Houck are valued in the millions.
The judge said he would take the matter of the bond under advisement.
The next hearing is set for February 8, 2024.
Sources: Alex Suckow, WLKY, October 5, 2023, Leigh Searcy; Morgan Eads, WLEX, October 5, 2023, Commonwealth of Kentucky v. Brooks William Houck, Case No. 23-CR-00309;
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Post by snowfairy on Oct 6, 2023 1:56:42 GMT -5
I don't believe I've ever heard of anyone secretly recording grand jury proceedings before. I thought the title, "Something Rotten in Bardstown" was just a play on words but this place really is rotten.
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Post by Sam on Oct 6, 2023 6:02:41 GMT -5
I don't believe I've ever heard of anyone secretly recording grand jury proceedings before. I thought the title, "Something Rotten in Bardstown" was just a play on words but this place really is rotten. There's a lot of corruption in Kentucky, including in the government and law enforcement, but Bardstown is so corrupt that it stands out in a state where corruption is sort of a way of life. |
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Post by Graveyardbride on Oct 9, 2023 21:26:48 GMT -5
Judge Refuses to Lower Brooks Houck’s BondJudge Charles Simms III has refused to lower the $10 million bond under which Brooks Houck is being held, alleging the bond is reasonable to assure the Defendant’s appearance, adequately protect cooperating witnesses and others associated with the case, and better assure the integrity of the proceedings.
“Although this Court will not speculate about a motive for killing Tommy [Ballard], it is extremely alarming as to why Nick [Houck] (pictured above) may have been selling the same caliber firearm that matches four of the five criteria being used in Tommy’s shooting,” he continued. While Simms admitted Brooks Houck isn’t responsible for his brother’s actions, “it is apparent that Nick has provided ongoing assistance to his brother,” he added.
The judge also addressed the Houck family’s attempt to record grand jury testimony. Nick Houck, Simms said, was caught attempting to record his grand jury testimony, as were other members of Houck’s family, including Rhonda McIlvoy, sister of the Houck brothers. “The integrity of the entire proceeding is at stake when someone deliberately violates the rules of criminal procedure,” the judge explained. “In this case, the Houck family intentionally engaged in misconduct when they secretly recorded the grand jury proceeding.”
Houck’s next court appearance is scheduled for Thursday, February 8, 2024.Sources: Joseph Garcia and Sarah Magin, WHAS, October 9, 2023, and Matthew Keck, WLKY, October 9, 2023.
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Post by jason on Oct 10, 2023 15:46:17 GMT -5
I don't see how the judge can justify setting an excessively high bond based on what this man's family members did, and the fact that he believes the Houcks killed the Ballard man. I haven't seen where Brooks Houck has been charged in Ballard's murder. It seems that the laws that apply everywhere else don't apply in that part of Kentucky.
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Post by serena on Oct 10, 2023 19:19:04 GMT -5
I don't see how the judge can justify setting an excessively high bond based on what this man's family members did, and the fact that he believes the Houcks killed the Ballard man. I haven't seen where Brooks Houck has been charged in Ballard's murder. It seems that the laws that apply everywhere else don't apply in that part of Kentucky. |
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Post by catherine on Oct 11, 2023 0:05:39 GMT -5
From the comments members of this group are making, I'm getting the feeling that some of you support the ex-boyfriend instead of the woman he probably killed. |
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Post by Graveyardbride on Oct 21, 2023 18:10:04 GMT -5
Commonwealth Says Houck is a Multi-millionaire, Bardstown Company Named 2023 Worldwide Whiskey Producer
In excess of a hundred documents were filed in the Nelson County Circuit Court Wednesday (October 18) concerning the financial resources of Brooks Houck, who is currently being held on a $10 million cash bond.
The commonwealth contends Houck is a multi-millionaire, and records indicate he owns three businesses and 83 properties in Nelson County. The various properties are valued from $7,500 to $918,000, with the combined worth of 66 such properties alone being $8.5 million.
The video recording and transcript of a conversation between Houck and his sister remain sealed.
Houck’s next court date is set for February 8, 2024.
In other Bardstown news, on Friday (October 20), the Bardstown Bourbon Company was named the 2023 Worldwide Whiskey Producer by the International Wine and Spirits Competition. Since its opening in 2016, the company, an innovative leader in contact distilling, has expanded to become one of the largest distillers in the United States.
Sources: Commonwealth of Kentucky v. Brooks William Houck, Case No. 23-CR-00309; Shay McAlister, WHAS, October 18, 2023, and Quenton Robertson, WAVE, October 20, 2023.
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Post by jason on Oct 22, 2023 23:49:05 GMT -5
What does this have to do with the case? Also, even if he does own property worth multi-millions, it doesn't justify a $10 million cash bond. He'd have to sell everything he had to come up with that much cash.
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Post by Graveyardbride on Oct 23, 2023 0:25:41 GMT -5
What does this have to do with the case? |
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Post by Graveyardbride on Dec 7, 2023 18:02:52 GMT -5
Authorities Search Farm North of Bardstown
Shane Young, special prosecutor in the 2015 disappearance of Crystal Rogers and the murder cases of Tommy Ballard and Officer Jason Ellis, has announced law enforcement officers, including the FBI, are conducting another search in the area. The location in question is a farm on Thompson Hill Road in Coxs Creek, an unincorporated community north of Bardstown.
A WHAS news crew reported seeing multiple unmarked police vehicles, heavy excavating equipment and dozens of men with tools at the site, which, so far as is known, hasn’t been searched until now.
As soon as he learned of the latest activity, Till Ballard, father of Tommy Ballard and grandfather of Crystal Rogers, rushed to the location. “I believe it has to be Crystal’s remains because Jason Ellis, they buried him, and we buried Tommy, so she’s the only one in Nelson County that’s left,” he said. “I just hope the day comes that we can get her remains and bury her and everybody that’s involved in this pays for it the rest of their lives.”
In other local news, HGTV (Home and Garden Television) has named Bardstown the Best Christmas Town in Kentucky. “In December, the town becomes the ‘North Pole of Kentucky,’ while adding a touch of Southern hospitality to its holiday celebrations during its annual Christmas parade ... where beautifully decorated floats make their way through streets decked out with twinkling lights,” HGTV noted.
On its official website, Bardstown, which has proclaimed itself the “Bourbon Capital of the World,” brags about its “homespun charm,” something “a big city just can’t match.” Sources: WDRB, December 7, 2023; Joseph Garcia and Shay McAlister, WHAS, December 6, 2023, and Leo Bertucci, The Louisville Courier Journal, December 7, 2023.
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Post by Graveyardbride on Dec 8, 2023 21:52:34 GMT -5
Third Man Charged in Crystal Rogers CaseSteven Lawson (above), 53, of Chapin, an incorporated community northeast of Bardstown, is now facing the same charges – conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence – as his son, Joseph Lawson, arrested in August. According to the December 6 indictment, the newly charged Defendant agreed to “aid one or more persons in the planning or commission” of the death of another and then “destroyed, mutilated, concealed, removed” or altered physical evidence on July 3 or 4, 2015, the time frame in which Crystal Rogers disappeared.
Lawson is currently incarcerated in Indiana, and his Nelson County bond has been set at $500,000 cash. Arraignment is scheduled for December 21.
Steven Lawson was mentioned in a 2015 police interview of Brooks Houck conducted by Nelson County Detective Jon Snow. During the interview, Houck said Steve Lawson was one of his employees, but he could not remember why the man called him so late on the night in question.
Lawson claimed he called his boss with a question about rental properties and Houck said he had to ask Crystal and would call her and get back to Lawson.
Snow admitted to being confused by Houck’s reply because he had previously said Crystal Rogers was in the truck with him, and if this were true, why would he need to call her?
Joseph Lawson’s next court date in January 5, 2024, and Brooks Houck will next appear in court February 8.Sources: Shay McAlister, WHAS, December 8, 2023, and Jason Riley, WDRB, December 8, 2023.
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Post by Graveyardbride on Dec 9, 2023 20:04:53 GMT -5
Defense Attorney Suggests Solicitation for Murder in Crystal Rogers Case
Theodore Lavit, the attorney representing Steven Lawson, who has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence in the disappearance, and presumed death, of Crystal Rogers, says his client is innocent. “He knows nothing about her death. He has made this statement over, and over, and over to the police, in my presence and outside my presence, that he would never harm Crystal. He didn’t harm Crystal, and he knows nothing of her murder or her disappearance,” the lawyer insisted.
Lavit went on to say his client, who was doing part-time construction work for Brooks Houck in 2015 when Ms. Rogers disappeared, had been questioned more than a dozen times since the beginning of the year.
“Joey (Joseph Lawson) drove Crystal’s vehicle west on the Bluegrass [Parkway] to, I believe it was Mile Marker 14 or 16, where he had a flat tire,” Lavit added. (This is the first on-the-record account of how the maroon Chevy Impala belonging to Crystal Rogers ended up where it was recovered.)
But Lavit wasn’t finished. “There likely is, for my knowledge of this case, evidence that there was solicitation,” the attorney claimed. “In my judgment, the commonwealth is going to make a heavy effort to prove that.”
It is obvious Lavit is either suggesting someone, presumably Brooks Houck, solicited an individual to kill Ms. Rogers, or that the commonwealth is attempting to prove such.
Sources: Gil Corsey, WDRB, December 9, 2023, and Connor Steffen, WHAS, December 9, 2023.
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Post by catherine on Dec 10, 2023 18:41:00 GMT -5
Even if it is what the commonwealth is trying to prove, it doesn't make any sense. What reason did Houck have to kill her?
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