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Meade County Sheriff’s Office making push for information in Rhonda Aebersold homicide investigation

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Shelbi Saylor says a day does not go by that she does not feel the loss of her mother, Rhonda Aebersold, in every part of her life.

Saylor says Aebersold loved the Meade County community, and her family needs that community’s help.

Shelbi Saylor, daughter of Rhonda Aebersold, speaks to the media during a press conference regarding the homicide investigation into her mother’s death at the Meade County Courthouse Friday.

“Anyone who has heard anything or knows something and doesn’t say anything is protecting who’s responsible for this,” Saylor said. “Please come forward with your information, no matter how small. My mother’s life mattered, and I will never stop fighting for her.”

Meade County Sheriff Phillip Wimpee hosted a press conference at the Meade County Courthouse Friday to call more attention to Aebersold’s case. Aebersold was found dead in her home on Old Mill Road on June 5, 2023.

Detective Danny Knell is the lead investigator on the case, which he said is an ongoing homicide investigation.

“Every lead is fully investigated,” Knell said. “There is no lead, no small lead, that will go uninvestigated.”

Knell said leads have produced new persons of interest who are being investigated, and Wimpee said the sheriff’s office is waiting on testing to be completed on evidence that was sent to the Kentucky State Police forensic lab.

Meade County Sheriff Phillip Wimpee speaks during Friday’s press conference regarding the Rhonda Aebersold homicide investigation. Aebersold’s daughter Shelbi Saylor and Detective Danny Knell stand in the background.

Wimpee said “this is going to be a solvable case.”

“One reason is: I’m not giving up on it,” Wimpee said. “I’m not just going to let dust grow on a case file. This is every day, every hour of every day, that we are taking care of this case.”

Saylor maintains the Facebook page Justice for Rhonda Aebersold, and said a $3,000 reward is available for new information on the case. If you have information, contact the Meade County Sheriff’s Office at 270-422-4937, the Kentucky State Police, or your local law enforcement agency.

Prosecution argues against defense’s bipolar disorder claims in Caudill case

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The prosecution on Thursday presented their arguments against the defense’s motion to remove consideration of the death penalty from the case against Dustin Caudill, the Elizabethtown man charged with killing two men and then setting fire to the Henon Lane residence they were in in October 2024.

The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office called Hardin County Detention Center psych nurse Lisa Puckett to the stand. Puckett testified that the morning after Caudill was taken into custody she conducted a triage screening. Puckett testified that at that time she did not observe symptoms of bipolar disorder, and that he was “very forthcoming” and “very calm.” Puckett testified that while Caudill reported that he had used methamphetamine, he did not report any medication use.

The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office then submitted records on Caudill that prosecutor Teresa Young said showed “violent and disruptive behavior” from Caudill after he was incarcerated in the Meade County Detention Center, which she said contradicts testimony from Dr. Jean Hinkebein at the previous hearing in which she said that she did not believe Caudill expressed criminal behavior. Young said the record shows Caudill changed his story on the killing of his mother and brother several times.

The prosecution argued that the records do not show a diagnosis of bipolar disorder as frequently as the defense says, and shows a link between criminality and Caudill’s use of drugs and alcohol. The prosecution also submitted video of Caudill talking with officers prior to being taken into custody and his initial interviews with police, in both of which he admitted to using meth.

Hardin Circuit Judge Larry Ashlock took the arguments from this hearing and last week’s hearing under advisement, and said he would make a ruling on the defense’s motion by at least 90 days ahead of Caudill’s trial date of June 8.

LTADD announces DARCI partnership aimed at disaster readiness and response

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The Lincoln Trail Area Development District announced “a significant new investment in regional safety and resilience” Thursday with their new partnership with DARCI, Disaster Awareness and Ready Communities.

According to LTADD, Breckinridge County successfully implemented the program, and LTADD’s expansion to include Grayson, Hardin, LaRue, Marion, Meade, Nelson, and Washington counties creates a “unified, disaster ready corridor in Central Kentucky.”

“By partnering with DARCI, we are ensuring that our region isn’t just reacting to disasters, but more importantly, we are actively preparing to lead our own recovery,” said LTADD Executive Director Daniel London. “With this investment from DARCI, our member counties, and by extension their residents, will have meaningful preparedness and recovery support if disaster were to strike.”

LTADD says the investment from DARCI will cover the deployment of specialized technology and training that will support local leaders, nonprofits, and residents. Key benefits of the program include a digital lockbox for residents, real-time coordination, proven speed, and regional collaboration.

Learn more about the program at www.darciready.com. Residents can also contact LTADD for more information.

Twin Lakes Skatepark Project celebrates progress made possible by tourism grant

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The Twin Lakes Skate Park Project celebrated the progress that has been made on their mission to construct a “safe, inclusive, and professionally designed” skatepark in the region this week, as the organization was formally presented with the $25,000 grant awarded by Leitchfield City Tourism.

Twin Lakes Skatepark Project Chairman Casey Keown said the project received the funding in September 2025.

“That helped us pay for Phase One of our design from Hunger Skateparks, so that includes site evaluation, conceptual planning, coordinating with us, and getting us a cost estimate breakdown, and we actually just got our first conceptual design,” Keown said.

The organization is continuing their fundraising efforts, including their upcoming Art in Motion Casino Night, which will be held at Arbor Stone Vineyard on March 28.

“It’ll include professional gaming tables,” Keown said. “We’ll have food, drinks, entertainment, and some auction items, and 100 percent of our proceeds go directly to funding the construction of our park.”

Keown says you can also support the organization by helping spread the word.

“Follow us on social media,” Keown said. “We’re on Facebook at Twin Lakes Skatepark Project. Our website is www.twinlakesskatepark.org, and we’ve got links to all of our social media there, as well as a donation portal if anybody wants to make a monetary donation.”

Ticket information for the Art in Motion event is also available on the website.

Area students invited to Read Across America event this Saturday

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Hardin County Education Association Vice President and James T. Alton Middle School science teacher Lawson Barger says literacy is important for school, but its importance extends everywhere.

“If you can get a kid to love reading, then you build a lifelong learner and a lifelong reader, and it can help grow their mind and their heart,” Barger said.

The HCEA will be hosting their annual Read Across America event this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Central Hardin High School cafeteria.

Barger says Read Across America celebrates the works of many diverse authors across the country and abroad.

“We have a lot of activity tables, and they’re all based around the books that we will have read by many community members at the event,” Barger said. “Those activities can be anything from learning how to use chopsticks, based on a book called Watercress, to another book called The Water Keepers, and we will have Hardin County Water District No. 2 distributing water bottles to all the attendees.”

Food trucks will be on hand, and the event will feature door prizes and book giveaways for students.

“The event is open to any and all community members,” Barger said. “We invite families of all shapes and sizes.”

Find the event page for Saturday’s event on the Hardin County Education Association’s Facebook page.