69 SOUTH
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69 SOUTH
Crystal Rogers Vanished and the Deadly Secrets of Bardstown
Nestled among Kentucky's rolling hills and bourbon distilleries, Bardstown's charm earned it the title "America's Most Beautiful Small Town" in 2012. Yet behind this picturesque facade lurks a darker reality—five unsolved murders that have traumatized the community and left families searching for answers for over a decade.
At the heart of this mystery is Crystal Rogers, a devoted mother of five who vanished without a trace on July 3, 2015. Her abandoned car discovered on the Bluegrass Parkway—keys, purse, and phone still inside—was just the beginning of a saga that would expose a complex web of family ties, police corruption, and small-town secrets. When Crystal's father Tommy Ballard began getting too close to the truth during his relentless search for his daughter, he too was silenced—shot dead while hunting with his grandson 16 months after Crystal disappeared.
The 2025 trials finally brought some justice, with Crystal's boyfriend Brooks Houck receiving a life sentence for her murder. His employees, Stephen and Joseph Lawson, were also convicted for their roles in the conspiracy. Testimony revealed chilling details—discussions about using farm hogs to dispose of a body, suspicious tampering with evidence, and the hasty sale of a car where cadaver dogs later detected human remains. Yet despite these convictions, Crystal's body remains missing, and several alleged conspirators—including Brooks' brother Nick, a former police officer, and their mother Rosemary—haven't faced charges.
Perhaps most troubling is the connection to other Bardstown tragedies. Police Officer Jason Ellis was ambushed and killed on the same parkway in 2013. The Netherland mother and daughter were brutally murdered in 2014. Investigators hint at connections between all these cases but haven't revealed how they intersect.
Meanwhile, Crystal's young son remains in the custody of the Houck family—the very people implicated in his mother's murder—creating another painful chapter for her grieving family. As pink ribbons continue to flutter throughout Bardstown, they serve as reminders of the justice that remains incomplete.
What twisted motivations led to these crimes? How deeply do the connections run through this small Kentucky community? And will Crystal's remains ever be found to give her family the closure they desperately seek?
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Disclaimer: All defendants are INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY in a court of law. All facts are alleged until a conviction!
Welcome, because I'll reap what I'm sowing. You'll put it there. Welcome everyone to Podcast 69 South, where we cuss and discuss true crime, cold cases, current events and hot topics, along with our state of society today. This is your trigger warning. Our podcast content is produced for adult listeners, 18 years of age and older. We discuss situations that may be offensive and triggering to some listeners. Sit back, relax and enjoy. Welcome back everybody to another episode of 69 South. I'm Chop, joined by my beautiful co-host, julie. We're honored to share a story that's both gripping and deeply personal.
Speaker 1:Hello listeners. Today we're stepping into a mystery that has left a small Kentucky town searching for answers. It's a case of loss, resilience and a community's quest for justice.
Speaker 2:We're diving into Bardstown, Kentucky, a place of historic charm overshadowed by tragedy. This is the story of Crystal Rogers, a 35-year-old mother of five who vanished in 2015. Her father, Tommy Ballard, was also killed while seeking the truth, and Jason Ellis, a police officer, ambushed in the chilling attack.
Speaker 1:Now at the center is a complex web involving the Houck family and their associates. We'll unravel the evidence, the human toll and the questions that haunt Bardstown.
Speaker 2:This case touches real lives Crystal's children, her mother, Sherry, and a community forever changed. So settle in and join us as we explore this enduring mystery.
Speaker 1:Let's begin with Bardstown, Kentucky, where history and beauty intertwine. Founded in 1780 by pioneer William Bard, it's among the oldest settlements west of the Alleghenies. Cobblestone streets and 18th century buildings create a timeless charm, earning it the title America's Most Beautiful Small Town from Rad McNally in 2012.
Speaker 2:most beautiful small town from rad mcnally in 2012, picture rolling hills and bourbon distilleries like jim beam and maker's mark, where the air carries a faint sweetness of oak and mash. Known as the bourbon capital of the world, bardstown hosts the kentucky bourbon festival, drawing crowds to its vibrant spirit. The basilica of the saint jCathedral, built in 1816, anchors its Catholic heritage, while my old Kentucky home State Park ties it to Stephen Foster's song. Now, walking around in this town we've been there before it's like taking a step back into history.
Speaker 1:Now with 13,000 residents. Bardstown is a close-knit community where neighbors share stories and gather for events, but beneath this warmth lies a shadow. Since 2013, five unsolved murders have occurred Crystal Rogers, tommy Ballard, jason Ellis and Kathy and Samantha Netherland have left deep scars, exposing a darker side to this quaint little town.
Speaker 2:That contrast sets the stage for our story. Bardstown beauty is real, but its pain runs deep and Crystal's case tore open all those wounds. Let's start with her disappearance and its ripple effects. Crystal Rogers was a 35-year-old mother of five living in Bardstown with her boyfriend Brooks Houck, their two-year-old son and her four other children. She was the heart of the family, managing school runs, staying connected with her kids. Now, on July 3rd 2015, her life came to a sudden halt.
Speaker 1:Brooks told police he last saw Crystal that night at their home playing games on her phone. He said he went to bed, woke up on July 4th and found her gone, along with her red Chevy Impala. Crystal's mother, sherry Ballard, grew alarmed when Crystal missed a family cookout, something that she would never do.
Speaker 2:On July 5th Sherry reported Crystal missing. That day Crystal's car was found abandoned on the Bluegrass Parkway at mile marker 14 with a flat tire. Her keys, purse and phone were inside. Sherry told Wave 3 she never leaves her cell phone. She wouldn't have walked away from that car.
Speaker 1:That detail is unsettling. Crystal was devoted to her children, leaving her phone and family behind DeviseLogic. The Nelson County Sheriff's Office questioned Brooks on July 8th, but the investigation hit a roadblock when his brother, nick Houck, a local police officer, called during the middle of the interview and advised Brooks not to cooperate.
Speaker 2:That call raises serious concerns. Why would an officer interfere? Nicholas, questioned a week later, failed a polygraph and remained uncooperative. In a follow-up interview by October 2015, authorities named Brooks as primary suspect and presumed Crystal was deceased, though they had never had a body or a crime scene.
Speaker 1:Brooks appeared on Nancy Grace the next day, claiming their relationship was strained but insisting he was innocent. He also failed a polygraph. Prosecutors later found he recorded his police interviews and shared them with family to align their stories. Cell phone data showed he only traveled between his home and the Howe family farm that day, not running errands as he claimed.
Speaker 2:Coordinating stories suggest someone with something to hide. Sherry and her husband, tommy, formed Team Crystal organizing searches and posting signs to keep their daughter's case alive. Sherry confronted Brooks directly, convinced he was involved, her resolve unwavering. I mean she was convinced of something, I mean.
Speaker 1:She had. You know that mother's instinct Absolutely. When your child is, you know, acting out of a, acting in a different manner, their moods off, something's different, you know if they're just going to disappear, I mean or not. Most parents would know if it was.
Speaker 2:And it seemed like they stayed in good contact with each other. You find a woman's car, her purse, her phone, all walked away from something's fucked up.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. It is especially with a little toddler that they had. You don't leave a baby either, and she was not the type of mother to do that at all.
Speaker 2:No, I remember watching that interview and he said that she didn't drink or do drugs or anything like that. She was a good girl. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Now their efforts came with heartbreak. Brooks restricted Sherry's access to their shared child, sparking a custody battle. Police searched the Houck family farm twice, in July of 2015 and in August of 2016, seeking evidence, but found nothing conclusive. Still, Brooks remained the focus as Sherry and Tommy continued to look for Crystal.
Speaker 2:The toll on Crystal's children is unimaginable, facing life's milestones without their mother. Sherry became their anchor, but the uncertainty keeps their grief raw. Let's turn to Tommy Ballard's murder, which deepened this tragedy. Tommy Ballard, crystal's 54-year-old father, was shot in the chest on November 19, 2016, while hunting with his grandson on family land near the Bluegrass Parkway. 16 months after Crystal vanished, the FBI ruled it a homicide, confirming Tommy's gun was not fired and his grandson was cleared. A single bullet ended his life instantly.
Speaker 1:Now Tommy led Team Crystal organizing searches and keeping his daughter's case in the public eye. In April of 2016, he posted on Facebook about a white Buick scene near the Houck family farm and he was asking about information on it. Sheriff Raymond Panora later said Tommy was getting too close to answers. Days after that post, that Buick was sold and Tommy was killed.
Speaker 2:That's an awful lot of close coincidences right there, I think dude was getting close.
Speaker 1:Too many coincidences.
Speaker 2:The poor dude man was searching for his daughter and he was getting close and then wound up shot in the chest by a high-powered rifle.
Speaker 1:That'd be, just like you know, one of our children going missing, and I couldn't even imagine what I would do.
Speaker 2:The timing suggests someone wanted him silenced. Sherry had always believed Tommy's death was tied to Crystal's case. In 2023, prosecutors revealed a rifle sold by Nick Houck under a false name matched four of the five ballistic criteria for Tommy's killing. No charges have been filed, but the sheriff hinted in a 2025 at potential developments in the case.
Speaker 1:Wow you would think him being a police officer that if they did use that weapon to kill Tommy, in which it sounds like it. I don't know a whole lot about ballistics and stuff, but four out of five matches is a good.
Speaker 2:I know it was even selling a rifle under a false name. You think that would spark some shit going on?
Speaker 1:Now the FBI, which took over in 2020, offers a $10,000 reward for information leading to a conviction. Tommy's brother, mike, added a $50,000 family reward, convinced the Houcks are involved. An IRS agent testified about the Buick suspicious cell, reinforcing the link to Crystal's case.
Speaker 2:The lack of charges is frustrating for Sherry, grieving both her daughter and her husband. The Houck family's role in these events is complex and their actions are central to this mystery. Let's explore them and their associates next.
Speaker 1:So the Houck family and their inner circle are at the core of this case. We're looking at Brooks Houck, his brother Nick, their mother Rosemary, their grandmother Anna Whitesides and Brooks' employees Stephen and Joseph Lawson. Witness testimony has been critical in revealing their roles in Crystal's disappearance.
Speaker 2:Brooks was a local businessman with rental properties and he did a lot of new construction work, house building and such. He was the last one to see Crystal alive on July 3rd 2015 at the Houck family farm. His account didn't hold up. Cell phone data contradicted his whereabouts and no witness corroborated his story. Prosecutors alleged he had a motive, citing his reluctance to pay child support or share custody. So being in construction, also being in farm, the farming industry.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I mean he had a lot of access to big equipment, bulldozers, backhoes. He was also making roads on the farm and digging footers, pouring concrete shit like that for the construction. I mean there's a lot of ways you can hide a lot of shit doing that. I'm just saying there's a lot of ways.
Speaker 1:you can hide a lot of shit doing that. I'm just saying. Nick Houck, his brother, a Bardstown police officer in 2015, was fired that October for interfering in Crystal's case. His call to Brooks during the police interview raised suspicions, as well as the failed polygraph, along with the rifle he sold under a false name, that was linked to Crystal's father's murder, although they're still considered unindicted co-conspirators and no charges have been filed against any of them.
Speaker 2:Rosemary Houck, the brother's mother, is an unindicted co-conspirator accused of seeking help to quote get rid of Crystal. Court documents claim she approached Danny Singleton before July 2015, asking if he knew someone who could eliminate Crystal, to which he replied it was possible for a price. Another witness overheard her express relief at Crystal's disappearance, saying their shared child would now be raised right.
Speaker 1:See, I get this vibe that Rosemary, like Brooks and Nick, were like mommy's boys. You know what I mean. I do too, and Rosemary was the controlling mom who like nightmare mother-in-law for anybody.
Speaker 2:For Crystal.
Speaker 1:The only gripe I heard of why she didn't like Crystal is because she didn't think that he was or that Brooks, or she didn't think that Crystal was good enough for Brooks and she didn't like her long, pretty blonde hair.
Speaker 2:Jelly.
Speaker 1:And didn't like Crystal having being the mother of Eli and having control over how her grandson was being raised.
Speaker 2:And you know she didn't like the fact that she had four children before this relationship Right.
Speaker 1:She just looked at her like she was less than their family.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the High Southern Belle. We see this a lot with mothers and mama's boys in these cases. You know that.
Speaker 1:Yes, now Anna Whitesides is the hauck brothers grandmother. She owned a white buick that became key evidence. Two hunters testified they saw it parked oddly near the hauck farm. On july 3rd 2015, after tommy's Facebook post about the Buick, nick and Anna sold it to a dealership in Louisville, kentucky. A police canine detected human remains in the trunk and hair matching Crystal's profile. After they retrieved it and they got to go through it Now, anna invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to testify. That's strange and this is an old. This is their grandmother, right.
Speaker 2:And she said anything I say I'm like it could get me in trouble too. Basically is the Fifth Amendment Wow.
Speaker 1:She didn't want to incriminate herself.
Speaker 2:Stephen and Joseph Lawson, who worked for Brooks, were also implicated. Elizabeth Chesser, who shares a child with Joseph, testified that Stephen confessed to a murder his wife threatened to expose. Joseph, warned Chesser she'd be next if he spoke out. Stacey Kranner, another employee, overheard Stephen say he needed to take care of a woman with five kids, which prosecutors tied to Crystal.
Speaker 1:Now Charlie Gurdie testified that Joseph Lawson discussed moving a car with a skid steer, suggesting a cover-up. These accounts were pivotal in the trials, which brought a long-awaited progress in the case. So let's get into the trials now.
Speaker 2:The investigation led to three arrests Stephen Lawson, joseph Lawson and Brooks Houck to three arrests Stephen Lawson, joseph Lawson and Brooks Houck. Their trials in 2025 brought critical witness testimony and verdicts that marked a turning point. Let's start with Stephen Lawson's trial.
Speaker 1:Stephen Lawson, joseph's father and an employee of Brooks, was charged with conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with evidence. His trial began May 27th 2025 in Bowling Green. Prosecutors argued that he helped cover up Crystal's murder by moving her car to the Bluegrass Parkway. Stephen admitted in a 2023 grand jury testimony that Brooks used a key word implying Crystal needed to be gone and asked him to move her car. He also confessed in a jail call to picking up Joseph, who was driving Crystal's car on July 3, 2015, the day she went missing.
Speaker 2:Heather Snellen, Stephen's former girlfriend, testified that in 2017, she overheard Stephen and Joseph discussing moving a body with a skid steer. She found needles, a Louisville Slugger bat and a sour-smelling wet clothes in their shared car the day after Crystal vanished, suggesting a cleanup. Snellen admitted to past drug use, which delayed her reporting until 2023, when she spoke to police after pressure from investigators.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's a big clue right there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so she found needles and a bat and like weird smelling wet clothes, but she didn't really say shit for a couple years because she was probably all.
Speaker 1:They was probably all fucked up and on drugs and she was scared and among other things. But what does that make you think? That makes me think they cracked her in the head with the bat, shot her up with some well, back then there wasn't really a lot of fentanyl, so it was probably heroin and then let her die like that that's what that makes me think insulin or anything.
Speaker 2:You give somebody insulin that ain't diabetic, it could kill them or put it in their vein type shit.
Speaker 1:Now Elizabeth Chesser said Stephen confessed to a murder his wife threatened to expose and he admitted to moving Crystal's car, adjusting the driver's seat to stage the scene. The defense called Dr Kyle Reich, a DNA expert, who noted that hairs in Crystal's car were never tested and could degrade, questioning their reliability. On May 30th, the jury convicted Stephen, recommending 17 years for conspiracy and five years for tampering to run concurrently, meaning at the same time, with sentencing set for August 6, 2025.
Speaker 2:Now the verdict was a step forward, but the bigger trial followed. Brooks Houck and Joseph Lawson faced a joint trial starting June 24, 2025 in Bowling Green. Brooks was charged with murder and tampering Joseph with conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with evidence. Prosecutors argued Brooks orchestrated Crystal's death, with Joseph and Stephen aiding the cover-up.
Speaker 1:Now Danny Singleton testified that Rosemary Houck, brooks' mother, asked him before July of 2015 if he knew someone to quote get rid of Crystal, suggesting a conspiracy began weeks earlier. Charlie Gertie said he saw Brooks give Joseph Crystal's car keys on July 3rd and Joseph remarked he'd pull her teeth and the hogs would do the rest.
Speaker 1:Jurors rewatched this testimony during deliberations, highlighting its weight damn, pull her teeth, and the hogs would do the rest so they likely hit her with the bat, shot her up with some drugs and then pulled her teeth so that they couldn't identify her body I guess hogs eat everything on a human body but the teeth and that could have left little bits of evidence why they were searching the farms and shit.
Speaker 2:Heather Snellen repeated her account of overhearing Joseph's discussing moving a body. Amber Bowen, nick Houck's ex-girlfriend, testified that Nick's phone was off for 36 hours starting July 3rd unusual for a police officer, suggesting he avoided tracking. Prosecutors noted Crystal's phone was turned off at 9.27 pm that night, never reactivating.
Speaker 1:The defense pushed back. Brooks attorney Brian Butler saw a directed verdict arguing no body, crime scene or confession existed. Joseph's attorney, Kevin Coleman, called Joseph collateral damage in the focus on Brooks, citing limited evidence. They challenged the canine detection in Anna Whitesides' Buick, questioning the dog's reliability, and presented a computer science expert who testified that Stephen's phone pinged near Boston Road, not the Bluegrass Parkway.
Speaker 2:On July 8th, after four hours of deliberation, the jury convicted Brooks of murder and tampering with evidence. They recommended life in prison plus five years consecutively. Joseph was convicted in conspiracy and tampering with 20 years plus five years consecutively. Sentencing is set for August 21st 2025.
Speaker 1:A troubling moment occurred when Rosemary Houck brought Crystal and Brooks's 12-year-old son to court mother's murder trial.
Speaker 2:That's odd.
Speaker 1:That's really odd.
Speaker 2:That decision deepened the family's pain. The convictions brought some relief, but Sherry told WLKY true closure awaits, finding Crystal's body. The community marked by pink ribbons stands with them, but frustration lingers over the unresolved questions. Let's explore another tragedy Jason Ellis' murder.
Speaker 1:On May 25, 2013, Bardstown police officer Jason Ellis was killed in an ambush around 2 to 3 am. He stopped on the Bluegrass Parkway exit ramp to clear branches, only to be shot multiple times with a shotgun. Investigators believe the debris was a trap and no arrests have been made.
Speaker 2:That calculated attack on an officer shook Bardstown, a town built on trust. Jason was serving his community and someone planned his death, leaving residents questioning their safety.
Speaker 1:Jason's case is one of five unsolved homicides in Nelson County, alongside Crystal and Tommy in the 2014 murders of Kathy and Samantha. Netherland Special Prosecutor Shane Young noted in 2024 that evidence in Crystal's case overlaps with others, though details remain undisclosed.
Speaker 2:Sounds like there was a gang running around there, like a gang of police, farmers and politicians.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:The Bluegrass Parkway connects these cases Jason's murder, crystal's car and Tommy's shooting all occurred there or nearby. Nick Houck's role as an officer in 2013 fuels speculation, but no evidence directly ties him to Jason's death. Sheriff Pineroa believes one person orchestrated the ambush, though he hasn't named anyone at all.
Speaker 1:Crystal's children live in the shadow of these tragedies, growing up without their mother and grandfather. Their pain underscores the urgency of these cases. As Bardstown grapples with unresolved grief, let's look at where things stand in 2025 in the community's response look at where things stand in 2025 in the community's response.
Speaker 2:By 2025, crystal's case saw progress with the convictions of Brooke, stephen and Joseph Lawson. Yet Crystal's body remains missing, with FBI searches at Cox Creek and a Wood Long Springs driveway yielding only items of interest. Sherry expressed relief at the verdicts but said true closure awaits on finding her baby girl.
Speaker 1:Nick and Rosemary Howe, named unindicted co-conspirators, face no charges despite their alleged roles. Sealed documents released after the convictions mention them and the sheriff anticipates further action. Legal analyst Nick Mudd predicted possible conspiracy charges soon. The community marked by pink ribbons support the Ballers but remains frustrated by open cases.
Speaker 2:Crystal's children and Sherry carry the heaviest burden, enduring loss while seeking justice. Bardstown remains scarred by these unsolved homicides, with hope tempered by the wait for full accountability.
Speaker 1:I have a message from a community member who had sent us an email and you know what she had to say. I told her are at seat's edge with anxiety for Crystal's son, who is still in the custody of, I believe, rosemary Hawks. Now it isn't justice that he was placed with the father's family, especially while the father was being investigated for unaliving Crystal, especially while the father was being investigated for unaliving Crystal. But now that he's been convicted and they're investigating family members as co-conspirators, it's absolutely unforgivable. How is it just to punish a victim's family and withhold a child from his rightful, innocent family members, much to the pleasure of those who smirk at justice? It's a travesty and the only endangers this child further, and I couldn't agree more.
Speaker 2:Now she hit the nail on the head there.
Speaker 1:Kentucky DCS really need to be looking into Rosemary Halkin where this youngest child is, because I just feel like he's not in a safe environment with people who could do things like this.
Speaker 2:I think the problem is is they have so many, so many ties to. They got ties to law enforcement. Obviously they got money ties and usually with money ties comes political ties.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:So there's where the most of the issue is, in my opinion.
Speaker 1:Wow. We've traced a decade of tragedy in Bardstown Crystal Rogers' disappearance, Tommy Ballard's murder, Jason Ellis' ambush. Now the 2025, convictions mark progress, but Crystal's body is still missing and Tommy and Jason's killers remain free. And Tommy and Jason's killers remain free.
Speaker 2:Let's keep these stories alive and support Sherry's family. Hopefully one day they can find her body and put their baby girl to rest. Share your thoughts on X or our website. We'll continue following Bardstown's journey, bringing updates and stories that demand truth.
Speaker 1:Stay engaged, stay compassionate and let's push for justice together.
Speaker 2:Thank you for joining us on this deep dive into barge towns mysteries. We're dedicated to bringing those stories to life and your support keeps 69 South going strong.
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Speaker 1:We're grateful for every one of you tuning in, Stay curious, stay connected and we'll be back with more.
Speaker 2:Until then, enjoy your day, your evening, whatever. We'll see you next time.
