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Luigi Mangione’s shifting defense strategy. A victim’s lover takes the stand. Plus, Keith Morrison's new podcast.
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Dateline Roundup: Nick Houck's Perjury Arraignment in the Crystal Rogers Case
At 26:14 · chapter starts 23:30
Alex Laray walks Andrea Canning through the labyrinthine Crystal Rogers saga, from her Fourth of July 2015 disappearance in Bardstown, Kentucky, through her father Tommy Ballard's unsolved murder eighteen months later, to Brooks Houck's 2025 murder conviction. The latest development: Brooks's brother Nick, a former Bardstown police officer, was charged with perjury. Prosecutors had repeatedly named Nick and their mother Rosemary as unindicted co-conspirators at Brooks's trial, and Crystal's family has long believed the Houck family helped cover up the crime. The arraignment itself was surreal — Nick arrived without his attorney, who had apparently told him to proceed alone. A public defender was hastily assigned, and Nick told the judge he had absolutely no idea why he'd been charged. Crystal's mother, Sherri Ballard, was present in court and told reporters afterward that she had been pushing for exactly these perjury charges, hopeful the truth about her daughter's fate will finally emerge [1] — Alex Laray "Former Bardstown police officer Nick Houck arrived at his perjury arraignment without his attorney — who told him to proceed alone. Nick to…" 24:15 .
Former Bardstown police officer Nick Houck arrived at his perjury arraignment without his attorney — who told him to proceed alone. Nick told the judge he had no idea why he'd been charged, and a public defender was hastily assigned for the hearing.
Crystal Rogers disappeared from her home almost 11 years ago; her car was found abandoned but her body has never been discovered.
Crystal Rogers's former boyfriend Brooks Houck was arrested in 2023 and convicted in 2025, receiving a life sentence for killing Crystal.
The defense team for Tyler Robinson, accused of killing right-wing activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah campus debate, wants the death penalty removed because a prosecutor discussed an inconclusive ballistics report with media outlets. The judge is now weighing whether to hold the prosecution in contempt.
