‘Secretly brought in recorders’: Prosecutors link family of boyfriend accused in missing woman’s murder to grand jury recordings, her father’s death

Left: Brooks Houck appears via video for his arraignment on murder charges in Nelson County (Ky.) Circuit Court on Oct. 5, 2023 (via YouTube screengrab/WDRB). Right: Sherry Ballard, mother of Crystal Rogers and wife of Tommy Ballard (via YouTube screengrab/WDRB). Inset: Crystal Rogers (via FBI).

Prosecutors in Kentucky who have charged a man with the 2015 murder of his then-girlfriend say that he is also linked to the shooting death of her father more than a year later.

Brooks Houck, 41, appeared via video on Thursday before Chief Circuit Court Judge Charles Simms for his arraignment on murder charges. He’s accused of killing Crystal Rogers, 35, a mother of five who went missing in 2015.

Houck, the father of Rogers’ youngest child and her boyfriend at the time of her disappearance, is believed to have been the last person to see her alive. She has never been found and is presumed dead.

He has pleaded not guilty.

At Houck’s arraignment, attorneys argued over how much bond is an appropriate amount to ensure Houck’s compliance and appearance in court, according to Louisville Fox affiliate WDRB, which posted the entire hearing to YouTube. Houck is currently detained on $10 million bond.

Prosecutor Shane Young said that the amount is warranted — and that he has never sought such a high sum. Some members of the grand jury, he said, thought the bond should have been set at double that amount.

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