Finding an impartial jury for Brooks Houck's trial proved nearly impossible- and that's just where the story begins.

"I'm Shay McAlister, and this is Shay Informed: an independent, ad-free platform dedicated to honest journalism with compassion and clarity.

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And it starts with a number that tells you everything about how big this case became: 33.

Out of 132 potential jurors called to the Warren County Courthouse for Brooks Houck's trial, only 33 people had never heard of Crystal Rogers or Brooks Houck.

Let that sink in. The trial had been moved 90 minutes away from Bardstown specifically because of pretrial publicity. The hope was that jurors in Bowling Green might be less familiar with the case.

But 99 out of 132 people already knew about it. They'd seen it on the news. On social media. On YouTube. Some had even listened to my podcast.

That's what happens when a case consumes a community- and a commonwealth- for ten years.

More than 100 people reported for jury duty, this was the packed courtroom

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