LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The significance of Brooks Houck’s arrest cannot be overstated. In part, because it’s a development that gives people in Bardstown hope. Hope for justice for the family of Crystal Rogers and hope that some of Bardstown’s other unsolved murders could someday see major developments of their own.
Rogers’ father, Tommy Ballard, was murdered in Nov. 2016, a little more than a year after his daughter’s disappearance.
In the last 16 months of his life, Ballard created “Team Crystal,” a group of community members dedicated to finding Crystal Rogers and bringing her home.
On the day he died, Ballard was planning to go hunting on family property with his 12-year-old grandson when someone in the distance shot him in the chest, killing him instantly.
But the mysteries in Bardstown extend beyond the Rogers and Ballard families.
In 2013, Bardstown Police Officer Jason Ellis was killed after finishing his shift.
He was driving home on the Bluegrass Parkway when he took exit 34 to go home, but branches were blocking the roadway.When he tried to remove the debris, someone shot him several times, killing him. The father and husband was only 33-years-old.
Then there are the Netherlands. The mother-daughter duo was found murdered inside their Nelson County home in April 2014.
Kathy Netherland was a special needs teacher at Bardstown Elementary. Her daughter, Samantha, was a 16-year-old preparing for prom.
Investigators released a surveillance picture of a black Chevy Impala they believe was tied to the murders, but nothing ever came of it.
Like the murders of Tommy Ballard and Jason Ellis, no one has been arrested in the case and no suspects have been named.
People in Bardstown have speculated some or even all the cases could somehow be connected, but it’s important to note, investigators have never linked the cases. Many say seeing the wheels of justice turning in the Rogers’ case gives them hope the other cases could be next.