A judge has declined to lower the bond of accused killer Brooks Houck.
Nelson County Circuit Court Judge Charles Simms said Houck, accused of killing his girlfriend, 35-year-old Crystal Rogers in July 2015, “has access to substantial financial resources” and could be a “flight risk,” according to a report by WAVE.com.
Houck, whose bond stands at $10 million cash, owns nearly 75 rental properties and a construction company among other holdings. Houck requested his bond be lowered to $500,000. He is being held in the Hardin County Detention Center.
Houck was arrested on September 27 after being indicted by a Nelson County Grand Jury. The partially unsealed indictment states that Houck, the father of one of Rogers’ five children, “acting alone or in complicity with another, committed the offense of murder by intentionally or under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life wantonly causing the death of Crystal Rogers.”
Houck, 41, of Bardstown, was also indicted for tampering with physical evidence.
He was arrested at a work site on Hawthorn’s Way in Nelson County.
The grand jury witnesses are listed as Det. Bryan Luckett with Kentucky State Police and FBI Agent Steve Keary.
Rogers disappeared on July 3, 2015. Her Chevrolet Impala was found on the Bluegrass Parkway in Nelson County with her personal belongings inside. She was reported missing by her mother, Sherry Ballard, on July 5, 2015.
Her body has not been found.
Houck was publicly named a suspect in the case in October 2015 by then-Nelson County Sheriff Ed Mattingly. Houck, whose brother, former Bardstown Police Officer Nick Houck was terminated for interfering in the early stages of the investigation, has steadfastly maintained his innocence.
In August 2020, as the FBI took control of the case, more than 150 federal and state law enforcement officers searched nearly 10 locations in and around Bardstown, including Brooks Houck’s residence and motor vehicles.
On November 19, 2016, Rogers’ father, Tommy Ballard, who was actively searching for his daughter’s killer, was shot and killed as he hunted on the family’s property near the Bluegrass Parkway. His murder remains unsolved.
Last week, though, it was revealed at Brooks Houck’s arraignment that Nick Houck had been in possession of the rifle that killed Ballard. Nick Houck later sold the rifle under an assumed name, according to special prosecutor Shane Young, the Hardin County Commonwealth’s Attorney.
Nick Houck has not been charged in the case.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
