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Newtownhamilton: Man charged as officers injured in car ramming
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What happened with Tyrese Gibson at Home Depot? 'Fast & Furious' actor shares video of 'heated discussion' with store staff after filing $1M lawsuit
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Israel attack: 12 Thai nationals killed, 11 kidnapped
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Treasury's Cash Pile Shrinks Further as Debt-Ceiling Talks Stall
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Eight years ago, Crystal Rogers vanished without a trace. Now an arrest has been made in her case
On a sweltering summer day in 2015, Crystal Rogers’ car was found abandoned on the side of the Bluegrass Parkway in Bardstown, Kentucky. Her belongings were inside the unlocked vehicle, but the mother-of-five was nowhere to be found. For years, the mystery of what happened to the 35-year-old has puzzled law enforcement, tortured her loved ones and haunted the small town of Bardstown, a place marred by a slew of unsolved killings in recent years. Three months after Ms Rogers’ disappearance, Brooks Houck, her then-boyfriend, was named a suspect in the case. Investigators at the time said they believed she was dead. But her body has never been found. And he has never been charged. Ms Rogers’ family never gave up the search for her and never stopped fighting for justice as her story continued to be shared on true crime podcasts and TV series. Tommy Ballard looked for his daughter every day, never giving up his quest to find her. He created a Facebook page “Team Crystal” to help spread the word. But 16 months later, the dedicated father was preparing to go on a hunting trip when an unknown assailant approached him at his family property and shot jim in the chest, killing him instantly. His case also remains unsolved. Ms Rogers’ mother Sherry Ballard believes he was targeted because he was close to a breakthrough in their daughter’s case. “My husband is dead because he looked for my daughter,” she told The Daily Beast in 2018. The eighth anniversary of Ms Rogers’ disappearance passed in July. There had been no updates, and no arrests. Until now. This week, the investigation took a sudden turn when it was announced a suspect had been charged in connection to the case. His name is Joseph Lawson and he has never been publicly named as a suspect or having any connection to this case. On Thursday, 32-year-old Joseph Lawson was indicted on charges of criminal conspiracy to commit murder and complicity to tampering with physical evidence, according to court records. Kevin Coleman, Mr Lawson’s attorney confirmed to WDRB that the charges are related to the missing woman’s case. The arrest is the first major development in years. So what happened to Crystal Rogers and what led to the first arrest in her case after eight years? Here’s what we know. What happened to Crystal Rogers? Crystal Rogers has not been seen or heard from since the evening of 3 July 2015. Later the same day, her red Chevrolet Impala was found abandoned with a flat tire at mile marker 14 on Bluegrass Parkway. Her keys, phone and purse were inside the car, according to the FBI’s office in Louisville. But she was nowhere to be found. In October of that year, Ms Rogers’ boyfriend at the time Brooks Houck, who is also the father of her youngest child, was named a suspect in the case. It’s believed he was the last person to see Ms Rogers at their Bardstown home where they lived with their son. He had never been charged. Arrest of Joseph Lawson is major breakthrough in 2015 case After eight years, a major breakthrough in the case came when authorities announced on Thursday that an arrest had been made in the case. Joseph Lawson, 32, was charged with criminal conspiracy to commit murder and complicity in tampering with physical evidence. The conspiracy to commit murder charge was filed 24 July and the charge of tampering with evidence was filed in June, according to Nelson County circuit court documents. Mr Lawson has not been charged with Ms Rogers’ murder, but instead faces a conspiracy charge which means prosecutors believe he was involved in some way. The indictment accused Lawson of tampering, saying he “destroyed, mutilated, concealed, removed or altered physical evidence.” On Thursday, he appeared on Zoom as he was arraigned in Nelson Circuit Court. He has not previously been publicly identified as a suspect in Ms Rogers’ case. Ms Rogers was not mentioned by name in the indictment, but Attorney Kevin Coleman, who represents Mr Lawson, acknowledged his client’s case is in relation to the mother’s death, according to WDRB. He declined to comment further. It’s unclear if any other suspects will be arrested in the case. A spokesperson for the FBI declined to comment on the indictment and did not give details or elaborate on whether investigators have arrested or will arrest others. Mr Lawson was being held at the Grayson County Detention Center Friday on a $500,000 bond for the conspiracy to murder charge and a $50,000 bond for the complicity to tampering with physical evidence charge, according to court records. He is due back in court on 26 October. This isn’t Mr Lawson’s first brush with the law. He has a criminal past with charges including for the possession of methamphetamine, burglary, trespassing, and assault, WHAS11 reported. Online sleuths in the Facebook group “Team Crystal” pointed out that one of Mr Houck’s employees Steve Lawson was mentioned in a police interview following Ms Rogers disappearance. In the recording of the interview, Nelson County detective Jon Snow is questioning Mr Houck about a late -night phone call with a specific number on the night that she vanished. He dials the number and as its ringing, tells the detective it’s Steve Lawson. “Who is Steve Lawson?” Snow asked. “That’s somebody who works for me,” he replied. A search of public records by The Independent revealed that Steve Lawson in Bardstown, Kentucky is related to Joseph Lawson, who is the same age as the one who was arrested this week. The call between Mr Houck and Mr Lawson was captured on the recording with Mr Houck asking the man to remind him why he called him late on the night Ms Rogers went missing. Just before that, he can be heard telling Mr Lawson, “It’s a difficult and trying time.” Mr Lawson responded that he had called him about a rental house and that he told him to speak to “Katie” who handles the properties and that she would get back to him. Mr Houck interjects and corrects him by saying it was “Crystal.” After the phone call, Detective Snow asked Mr Houck why he told Steve Lawson that she’d call him back when she apparently had been beside him in his truck at that moment. “She’s not gonna wanna mess with that kind of stuff that late,” Mr Houck replied. Crystal Rogers’ boyfriend was named a suspect in the case in 2015 Brooks Houck, who was Rogers’ boyfriend at the time of her disappearance, was named a suspect in the case in 2015 by the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office. He was believed to be the last person who saw her. Ms Rogers’ parents have said in previous interviews that they believe Mr Houck had something to do with their daughter’s disappearance. But Mr Houck has never been charged with anything in relation to Ms Rogers’ disappearance. When Nelson County Sheriff Ed Mattingly announced that Houck was a suspect, he said he believed Rogers was dead. Her body has not been found. Fatal shooting of Crystal Rogers’ father remains unsolved More than a year after Ms Rogers vanished, her father, Tommy Ballard, was shot and killed by an unknown assailant on his family’s property. It happened in November 2016 as he was preparing to go hunting, according to FBI Louisville. His case remains unsolved. Before his death, the 54-year-old had searched endlessly for his daughter and created a Facebook group called “Team Crystal” to try to find her. Mr Ballard’s father, Till Ballard, said he believes the two deaths were related. He spoke to the Lexington Herald-Leader on Friday and said he hopes the arrest in Ms Rogers’ case will lead to a break in his son’s killing. “Tommy wasn’t going to stop searching ... somebody had to stop him,” Till Ballard said. “I think he knows something about Tommy, too,” he added about Mr Lawson. The FBI, which is investigating both cases, has not commented on the latest in Ms Rogers’ case or Mr Lawson’s arrest. FBI renews investigation in 2020 Crystal Rogers’ case has gone unsolved for years as it was turned over several times between agencies. It was transferred from the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office to Kentucky State Police before the FBI took over in August 2020. In January 2023, Attorney General Daniel Cameron appointed a special prosecutor to investigate Ms Rogers and Mr Ballard’s deaths. On 3 July, the eighth anniversary of her disappearance, FBI Louisville tweeted it made “significant progress in bringing this case to its rightful conclusion” over the past year. “We continue to pursue every available lead until those responsible for Crystal’s disappearance are held accountable,” FBI Louisville said at the time. In October, the FBI searched a farm in Bardstown that was one of the last places Rogers was seen alive before vanishing. It’s a farm that belongs to Mr Houck’s family. The FBI office declined to comment on Mr Lawson’s arrest. Multiple Houck family properties searched Federal authorities announced in August 2020 that they were taking over the investigation in Ms Rogers’ disappearance which led to a slew of searches at properties belonging to the Houck family. One of the properties was the home of Mr Houck and another belonged to his brother, Nick, who in a bizarre twist, was a former police officer who was fired for allegedly interfering in the Rogers investigation. Another search was conducted in 2021 with the FBI Louisville office claiming they had found “multiple items of interest” at one of the Houck properties. And in October 2022, the feds launched a five-day search at Mr Houck’s farm. The FBI says it won’t comment on exactly what was collected. Unsolved killings have haunted Bardstown for years Ms Rogers’ case is not the only unsolved mystery in Bardstown, Kentucky. There are also four unsolved murders that have thrust the small town into the headlines over the past few years. The FBI is investigating all four murders. “Year after year, tragedies struck this small town,” Jessica Noll, journalist and host of the podcast, “Bardstown,” previously told Nancy Grace. Ms Noll created the podcast to attempt to figure out if the crimes are connected and examine how the brutal murders impacted the small town of about 13,000. In May 2013, Bardstown Police officer Jason Ellis was on his way home around 2am when he noticed the road was blocked by freshly cut trees. When he got out of the car to investigate, someone shot and killed Mr Ellis. A year later, in April 2014, mother and daughter, Kathy and Samantha Netherland, were found brutally murdered at their home. Kathy had been shot multiple times and Samantha was found stabbed with her throat slit. The fourth person murdered was Ms Rogers’ father, Tommy Ballard, whose death in November 2016 has been investigated as a murder, according to the Kentucky State Police. The FBI has created a website called crystalrogerstaskforce.com where updates are provided on the cases. Read More Man charged over 2015 disappearance of Kentucky mom Crystal Rogers That ’70s Show actor Danny Masterson sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for rapes ‘Draped in unmitigated evil’: Teenager will spend rest of life in jail for murder of parents and siblings
2023-09-10 02:56
Medtronic raises fiscal 2024 forecast on strong sales of surgical, diabetes devices
By Khushi Mandowara and Christy Santhosh Medtronic beat second-quarter profit and revenue estimates and raised its annual earnings
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Biden's team reports 'progress' in debt ceiling talks with president
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At least nine dead as Ukraine and Russia hit by powerful snow storms
At least nine people have died due to extreme weather conditions as a winter storm lashed parts of Russia and Ukraine, knocking out power from hundreds and thousands of households. The severe cold struck war-torn Ukraine at a time when thousands of both Russian and Ukrainian troops were engaged in intense fighting in the eastern towns near the Black Sea almost 22 months into Vladimir Putin's invasion. Kyiv fears Moscow could attack its power grids with air strikes this winter. The "storm of the century" killed at least four people in Russia and occupied Crimea after it struck the southern part of the country over the weekend. Dagestan, Krasnodar and Rostov, as well as the occupied Ukrainian territories of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea have been struggling with the violent weather conditions, the authorities said. At least 1.9 million people were affected by power cuts in Russia, according to energy minister Nikolay Shulginov. In Ukraine, at least five people were killed and almost 1,500 towns and villages were left without power after storms dumped up to 10 inches of snow in some places. "Unfortunately, as of now, there are some deaths. The highest number is in the Odesa region - five people," Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address. Schools were ordered to shut, while traffic was halted on 10 highways. Southern Odesa, the Mykolaiv regions, and central Kyiv were the worst affected places, with initial power cuts reported in 40,000 homes in the capital region. Ukraine is likely to be hit with more snow and rain on Tuesday, according to forecasters. Nearly 2,500 people were rescued following a snowstorm in Odesa, local governor Oleh Kiper said. About 849 vehicles have been towed out, including 24 buses and 17 ambulances, he announced on Telegram, adding that all those trapped by the snow since the start of the snowstorm had now been rescued. On Monday evening, the boiler facility in Odesa, where a 100-metre pipe broke and fell on Sunday, resumed operations. Huge waves crashed over beachside areas of the Black Sea coast, killing one person. One man, who "went out to look at the waves" died in the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula, said Oleg Kryuchkov, an adviser to the region's Russian-installed governor. Vladimir Konstantinov, a Crimean lawmaker, said the peninsula had experienced an "armageddon"-like scenario. "Old-timers can't remember this kind of wind and waves," he added. In the resort cities of Sochi and Anapa, one person died and several people were injured when hundreds of trees were blown down. In neighbouring Moldova, four people were reported dead during the cold snap that hit the region over the weekend. Two dead bodies were recovered from inside a car buried in a snowdrift in the southeastern area of Coscalia and another outside the capital. Ukraine's border service said that two border crossings in the Odesa region to Moldova reopened after a temporary suspension on Sunday, but traffic conditions remained difficult. Read More Russian court extends detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich until end of January Germany is having a budget crisis. With the economy struggling, it's not the best time Russia-Ukraine war live: Putin resorts to ‘energy terrorism’ as snow hits Odesa Chechen warlord Kadyrov offers Putin 3,000 more fighters amid heavy Russian losses Russian forces encircle Avdiivka and ‘ready to storm city’ ICC prosecutors halt 13-year Kenya investigation that failed to produce any convictions
2023-11-28 18:18
Congress returns to try to stave off a government shutdown while GOP weighs impeachment inquiry
Congress is returning to Capitol Hill to try to avert a government shutdown, while House Republicans also consider whether to press forward on an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden
2023-09-05 12:19
Distressed bear cub rescued after its head was trapped in a plastic container
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