Thirteen years ago today, Officer Jason Ellis left the Bardstown jail in the early morning hours, headed home after a late shift. He never made it.

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Around 2:30 a.m. on May 25, 2013, Ellis took Exit 34 off the Blue Grass Highway- a route he knew well. But when he reached the ramp, something was wrong. Tree limbs were scattered across the road, blocking the way.

Ellis did what any officer would do. He turned on his overhead lights. He positioned his patrol car to block the ramp. And he got out to clear the debris.

Bent over the tree limbs, shotgun blasts erupted from the embankment above him. Pellets tore into his arm, his side, his neck, his head- the areas his ballistic vest couldn't protect.

It wasn't an accident. It wasn't random. Someone had put those limbs there. Someone was waiting.

For years, people in Bardstown have whispered about a connection between these cases. They've felt it. They've suspected it. Now, the people who have actually seen the evidence are saying it out loud.

And yet: no arrests. No charges. No justice for Jason Ellis.

The investigation

The Kentucky State Police has led the investigation into Jason's death since the beginning. And I'll be direct with you about where that investigation stands today: I don't know. Because KSP won't say.