BARDSTOWN, Ky. — Bardstown, Kentucky is rich in history. It is known as the Bourbon Capital of the World and once was named “The Most Beautiful Small Town in America.” But in recent years it has become known for something more sinister: murder.
Bardstown police officer Jason Ellis was ambushed and killed in May 2013. One year later, a mother and her teenage daughter — Kathy and Samantha Netherland were brutally murdered inside their home. In 2015, a 35-year-old mother of five, Crystal Rogers, vanished on Fourth of July weekend. She's now presumed dead. And a year a half later, her father, Tommy Ballard, who spent countless hours searching for his daughter and praying for her safe return was killed while hunting on his own property.
All five murders are unsolved to this day. And the town wants answers.
Are they connected? Will the killer or killers ever be brought to justice? Will someone finally talk and give investigators the clue that leads them to an arrest?
True Crime Chronicles, a weekly podcast hosted by investigative journalist Jessica Noll and co-host Will Johnson, is taking a look at the stories of these victims, their families and theories about what happened and who could have committed such heinous crimes in this small southern town.
On Wednesday, Bardstown, a new podcast series hosted by WHAS11 investigative reporter Shay Mcalister — who also reports on the series Unsolved — will be released, featuring all of these unsolved cases and a few others you may not have heard of. The 10-episode podcast event is a collaboration between VAULT Studios and WHAS11.
If you have any information about any of these cases, call the Kentucky State Police, at (270) 766-5078 or the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office, at (502) 348-1840.