A signed venue order, a new filing naming three grand jury dates, and Sherry Ballard's unfiltered reaction- everything from inside the courthouse.

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When I got to court Friday morning, I was chatting with Till and Betty Ballard, Crystal Rogers' grandparents, and I spotted a familiar face. Someone who has been connected to Crystal's case before... but hasn't been for years. So, I approached him and asked why he was there today. We'll get to that conversation in a bit... first, let's talk about what happened in the courtroom.

The venue is officially decided

Judge Simms signed the order confirming Nick Houck's trial will be held in Owen County. There was a small hiccup at the start- Simms said he'd looked for the tendered order the night before and couldn't find it, and had to call both attorneys to the bench to sort it out. Turns out it had been filed, just not yet processed. Once that was cleared up, he signed it: trial in Owen County, but all pretrial proceedings- like today- stay right here in Nelson County.

That part is now locked in. What's not locked in yet is the November 9th trial date. It wasn't addressed directly today, and honestly, given everything else that got added to the calendar this morning, I wouldn't assume it's safe.

The bill of particulars

Nelson County Commonwealth's Attorney Kyle Williamson and Nick Houck's attorney Michael Ferguson

You'll remember from earlier this week: Houck's attorney, Michael Ferguson, filed a motion demanding the Commonwealth spell out exactly which statement, out of 33 pieces of evidence, constitutes the "material false statement" behind the perjury charge.

"My request to have the Commonwealth own what they are putting up in the indictment, which is very vague. It does nothing but mimic the language of the statute. Exactly what words were spoken that they maintain as a material false statement? Exactly?," Ferguson said to both the judge, and the Commonwealth's Attorney.