Can you believe it's been 10 years?
I can't.
Some people, we were at police week
last week talking about it and you know,
you have those that seem like
yesterday and then you have those
that it seems like it was forever and
obviously depends on where you are.
Meaning were you close, intimate,
family or were you coworkers
and friends and but yeah,
10 years ago it it does not seem that long,
believe me. To me anyway.
Yeah, I mean, I get that in some ways.
It does seem like some of those those
emotions, those some of the things you saw.
I mean, can you take us back to the
scene kind of arriving there And, yeah,
you know, the, you hear the term,
the politicians use it.
What will you do when you
get that 3:00 AM phone call?
Well, I got that 3:00 AM phone call.
And you know, I remember when
the phone rang at that time.
Man, this can't be good, but.
And then when I looked over to the
phone it said Nelson County dispatch.
Then I knew it was not good because
if it was an incident or a situation,
you know the night chief on my department
would be the one calling on dispatch.
So I knew and then I just remember him
saying we've got a bad situation, chief.
Of course by that time I'm already up
trying to throw on clothes uniform,
whatever I wore and talk to same time and.
He just said we we're not sure what happened.
He's down.
I said Okay who?
And of course he said it was Ellis.
And because of those tree branches
it was very confusing to everybody,
you know, because I think he
even told me we don't know if he,
a tree fell on him which I thought what
in the hell is he doing on a you know,
you know but there's 3:00 o'clock in the
morning the cobwebs and but I just remember.
Him saying it's it's not good.
He would never he did not tell me he had
been killed and that's not his place.
I don't blame dispatch at all.
But doing this long enough and
those Spidey senses as we call it,
I I knew it was not good.
And then you know I lived right
in town in Bardstown.
And you know I jumped my car.
I'm, I'm headed out to the Bluegrass
and my phone rang and it was one of
the officers who was on the scene.
Had to be one of, you know, Jason's.
Good friends and he's crying when
I answered and he's like they
they they killed him.
He's he's he's gone, chief.
He's gone.
And I said I'm,
I'm on the way not knowing what I
was going to do but I was you know
And then when I got to the scene
I I remember it was eerily silent
and it was a full moon that night.
So for 3:00 o'clock in the morning
it was it was just lit up natural.
But of course the lights,
the police lights and stuff, but.
And I just remember being eerily silent
and walked up to the yellow tape.
And, you know,
the officers were just standing quiet.
There were like 4 paramedics on the
scene and they were just kind of standing,
I don't want to say in formation,
but they were just standing,
you know, shoulder to shoulder,
just kind of like a, you know, wow.
And I just remember lifting the tape.
KSP and the sheriff were arriving
at the time because it, you know,
what happened out in the
sheriff's jurisdiction.
So he responded and.
I just remember lifting the tape and
walking up and looking down at Jason and
thinking what what in the hell happened here?
You know, didn't call off.
Obviously this tree didn't fall on him,
but he was obviously shot and killed.
And I just remember kneeling down
and his his right knee was up.
He was on his back and I just remember
put my hand on his knee and I,
you know, I had.
I had my moment I guess where I was confused,
I was upset, I was hurt,
I was mad.
I just you know cried a little bit
and I just remember Jason we'll
we'll figure this out and I stood up
and you don't I got I kind of told
myself okay you got to be the chief
cry later and at that point I just
said okay guys here's you know I just
started shooting directions and of
course KSP was going to take it to
you know sheriff and I and KSP kind
of grouped and and the sheriff said
I want KSP to take it absolutely.
I knew they had they had better toys and.
Both of our agencies combined so
but that was that was that moment
where you know wow
you remember such a vivid details.
I mean is it is it just stuck there
There were things that there's no saying
in police work is is I wish my heart
could forget what my eyes have seen and
there's just some things throughout my
God what on 35 years that I was on it.
There are some things that I
could describe to a detail.
Some things like you'd have to remind me,
Oh yeah, I did make that run.
But there are certain things that, you know,
where were you and Kennedy was killed,
kind of things, you know,
And that's one of them that
is etched in my head.
And it's never, it's never going to leave,
even if it's solved.
It's, you know,
and I remember when we talked, you know,
five years ago for the podcast.
Called it your darkest day.
Is it still your darkest day?
Will it always be your darkest day?
I think so. You know.
And when I say that,
meaning I've been in shootings,
I've been been in some horrible situations
over the three decades I was in.
And while, you know,
there's always that I don't
want to see PTSD but close,
this hurts worse than some of
the things that I personally
went through because, you know.
Captain of the ship on my watch.
And such a young officer.
Damn good officer, young officer,
Married 2 little boys.
It's just like,
can it get any worse, you know?
And again, doing this as long as I
have or long as I did, you know, you,
you learned to take your personal stuff
and put it over on the shelf for a minute.
You got things to deal with
and then it'll it'll always,
always be in my mind.
10 years with no named suspects,
10 years with no arrests, no answers.
Did you ever imagine it would take 10 years?
I was thinking again the other day.
Again, we were at police week,
as I mentioned. So you know, that's
all we talked about for a week. Sadly,
that morning that once I finally
got the okay from Amy and Jason's
family because obviously the,
you know, the media was calling.
Hey, what can you tell us?
We're on the way.
So like we did a press conference,
it's going to be a very,
very emotional day.
It was very stressful day.
I I just remember when I was giving
that press conference thinking
I don't have a suspect for you,
but surely by the end of the
day and then the funeral rolled
around and no name and you know.
Yeah, kind of go back where you said no.
Just stand there and give
that press conference. In
no way could I have imagined that 10 years
we're going to still be talking about it.
Not that we shouldn't,
but we're talking about an unsolved murder.
Not just, hey, this officer was killed
in the line of duty 10 years ago.
You know, we've got that extra
appendage of still unsolved.
And you know, the Jason's family
and his boys need that closure,
I think you know. They're owed that.
Then the department,
our needs come second, obviously,
but there everybody needs closure in this,
you know, again, it's like, man,
I I I thought after 10 years there's
no way would still be unsolved.
And I I know when I was getting ready to
retire or leading up to my retirement,
I always said I hope whenever I do retire
that it's solved by the time I retire.
Now I'm thinking I'm retired
now what do I do hope it's.
I hope I live long enough to see it solved.
I mean you know where do you go from here So
why do you think this is such
a challenging case to solve. I
I don't know and and and I'm you know,
I I still talk with KSB occasionally they
don't tell me a lot don't want them to but
I I think everything is kind of in place.
But it's it's perhaps it's like with the
Crystal Rogers or the Tommy Ballard they
just need one more piece to you know.
The old I I I can only charge you with
what I can prove not what I think.
And I just don't think that
final piece is there yet.
And you know, and you would you'll remember
in the beginning I kind of was like,
yeah, it had to be two or three people,
you know, this was just two.
And then as time goes on I'll I'll be the
first to say maybe we were all wrong.
Maybe it was just one person,
one poor soul who snapped APTSD.
You know, that snapped.
And we'll never know if it was
truly just that one person.
The FBI has insinuated that they think,
you know, if they can find
answers in Tommy's case,
Crystal's case, or Jason's case,
they can find answers in all of them.
What do you think?
Do you think that there's a connection here?
None that I see.
But again, I'm on the outside now.
I'm really on the outside.
But all the years I was there,
we could never make a Nexus of
of tying them all in again.
Doesn't mean tomorrow they're
going to get a tip 10 years
later that that aha moment.
I don't see it.
But that doesn't mean it's not there.
I know when I was still in Bardstown,
you know the the prosecutor's
office looked at cases.
You're looking for something common.
A name that maybe kept appearing in
some of Jason's arrests or cases and.
You know,
nothing jumped out to the investigators or
the prosecutor's office or or anything.
And again you may recall a few years
ago the Netherland family kind of took
to Facebook and we're like please stop.
We don't know crystal we did
not know the police officer.
We did not you know because you
you sometimes get that small
town rumor stuff and that every
time you go forward you you get
the old 2 steps back and and.
So that you know again the Netherland
family has even said we don't
know any of these people we're
we're all sharing a tragedy very
coincidental yes in the in the time
frame and but we don't know them.
And I I think once you would talk
to Jason or or or Sherry Ballad and
her family they probably didn't
know the Netherlands they did
they know Jason maybe because he
was you know but there's just not
that one thing yet that I I don't
think can put them all together.
You mentioned the aha moment.
You think it's still possible after 10 years.
There's still some stone left uncovered.
There's still some piece of evidence
that could make a break here
in my heart. I want to believe that yes,
whether it's ten years or
another year or five more years,
something will come up.
I truly mark believe every
stone has been uncovered.
But what was uncovered has, you know,
is that put on hold until we can.
Bring in that other piece because
you know KSP brought out every every
piece of equipment they have crime
scene stuff and you know so and
again don't know what all they have
but you know to the to the level
that this investigation went I, I,
I still in my heart believe that someday
it's it's it's something's going to
break something's going to break.
Like I said, I hope I'm around to see it.
Horrible thing to thing.
But it's like you know gosh what
you know and again that's selfish.
I'm not part I I I want it
for the you know, his boys,
his family you know Amy and them that
they they deserve it long before we do.
I hope we're there to share with that.
Put it that way.