Jim Duckett

In November of 2008, 43-year-old James “Jim” Duckett was tortured and killed inside his own home in Shelbyville, Kentucky. Nearly two decades later, there has been little movement in Jim’s case, despite what appears to have been an incredibly barbaric crime.

Shelbyville, Kentucky is a decent-sized little town in America's heartland, located roughly halfway between Louisville and Lexington. An hour north of Bardstown (a region familiar to many longtime listeners), Shelbyville is home to about 17,000, a number that's grown quite a bit over the last few decades. Calling itself "The Gateway to the Bluegrass," Shelbyville, the county seat of Shelby County, prides itself on being a picturesque American town. At one point, it was home to famous musician and actor Jack Harlow, as well as Colonel Sanders of K.F.C. fame.

Despite its quaint and tranquil appearance, however, Shelbyville is no stranger to the dark parts of life that often lurk in the shadows. This includes a grisly homicide from 2008, which bears similarities to another gruesome cold case I've covered in the past, but also seems disconnected in its own way. And to this day, authorities have yet to zero in on a potential suspect - or even a motive.

This is the story of James "Jim" Duckett.

Born on June 26th, 1965 in Marshall County, Kentucky, James Carl Duckett Jr. was the only son born to his parents, James and Katherine Duckett. James Duckett Sr. had been a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Army for several decades, including service during the Vietnam War, and his mother, Katherine Duckett (formerly Katherine Farmer) had been born in West Virginia but eventually settled in Kentucky. However, during his childhood, James Jr. - who went by "Jim" - moved around with his family quite a bit because of his father's military career. This also included his two sisters, Katherine and Rebecca, who remained close with Jim throughout his life.

Because of James Sr.'s military career, the family moved around quite a bit throughout their childhoods. During (our) Jim's high school years, the family settled into the Louisville area, with Jim graduating from Doss High School. There, his personality began to blossom for the first time, with those that went to school with him recalling his great sense of humor and his people pleaser mentality years later. Jim then followed his father into military service, enlisting in the U.S. Army right out of high school.

During his roughly decade in the military, Jim would become a member of the military police, even spending some time in Germany working as a crime scene investigator for the military. His sister, Katherine, later told WAVE 3 News:

"He was in the military police. He did do Desert Storm and when he joined he went to D.C. and was in Ronald Reagan's Old Guard."

Ultimately, Jim was honorably discharged from the Army, but struggled after separating. He dealt with some recurring PTSD from the things he'd experienced in the military, and tried to treat his problems with alcohol... a vicious cycle that often only exacerbated things. During this time, he seemed to float around and worked a variety of jobs, including some time spent as an electrician, a carpenter, and in computer repair.

After separating from the military, Jim had lived in Marshall County, Kentucky, but made the decision to move back closer to his family's home in Shelby County in the mid-2000s. His mother passed in 2003 and his father followed in 2007, and this seems to have encouraged Jim to want to be closer to his remaining family.

Following his father's death in 2007, Jim moved to Shelbyville, Kentucky, and he lived at 5300 Rockbridge Road, located just off of a winding two-lane state highway. This was a quiet rural road, surrounded by scenic, hilly landscape, and located across the street from the Rockbridge Community Church. There, Jim began to reinvest himself into the community, attending church once again - the same one he lived across the street from, in fact. He also started volunteering there when he could, applying his various skills to helping maintain the church.

Jim also began spending a lot of time with his family in the region, which included his sisters and his uncle, as well as his nieces and nephews. In fact, it was they that had been his main inspiration to move home. He wanted to not only be closer to all of them, but begin to help out in a way that he really hadn't been able to in the past.

By 2008, Jim had committed himself fully to his sobriety. He had a home of his own, a girlfriend, and even adopted a dog that year: a little golden mix named Bo. He had taken up new hobbies to occupy his time, including horseback riding. He'd even bought a couple of horses of his own, which he began not only riding on the weekends, but taking care of throughout the week. And because he had two horses, his girlfriend and he could both go riding on the weekends together. Whatever time Jim had left, he spent dedicated to his family members scattered throughout the region.

Years later, Jim's sister Katherine Nichols would tell WHAS 11:

"He was a good uncle, he was a good brother, he was a good listener. I don't know, I could probably go on forever about my brother."

On Saturday, November 8th, 2008, Jim went Christmas shopping with one of his sisters, then spent some time with her family.

Afterwards, many residents in the region began attending the first day of Light Up Shelbyville, also known as their Festival of Lights, which is a big holiday celebration that takes place every year. But Jim decided to pack it in early that day, expecting a big day the following day, Sunday. On Sundays, he typically went to church and then went horseback riding, which he planned to do with his girlfriend, who lived in a nearby city. They would then spend some time together before the beginning of the work week.

Early that evening, friends would drop by and see if he wanted to go out with them, but he refused, citing the aforementioned reasons. That night, however, he would speak with his girlfriend on the phone for a bit, with the two chatting until just after midnight, when they said goodbye, having made loose plans to see each other the next day.

The following day, however, didn't go as expected.

Jim, who often spoke to his sister Katherine on the phone daily, didn't call her. When she attempted to call him, he didn't answer his phone. After some time had passed, Katherine reached out to some of Jim's fellow churchgoers and discovered he hadn't gone to church that morning. Katherine and her other sister, Rebecca, would try and reach out to Jim but were unable to get in touch with him throughout the day.

Having grown uneasy by that evening, Katherine decided to drive out to Jim's home to check on him. She later told WHAS 11:

"I knew then in my gut that something was wrong, so we went out to the house that night and we walked around the house. I had the key to his house but I didn't go in because I didn't want my brother to think I didn't trust him."

By the time Katherine pulled up to his home, it was already dark, and she noticed that his truck was missing from his driveway. Still, she decided to look around the home to make sure everything was okay.

Peering in through the windows, Katherine didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. That is, until she came upon the master bedroom, where she noticed that the screen had been tampered with. But looking in through the window, she was able to see that the sheets on Jim's bed were bunched up in a weird way, which was very much unlike him. As a military vet, he'd developed strict habits about cleanliness that endured into middle age. So him leaving his bed like that just seemed unusual. But other than that, nothing looked out-of-place, but it was also hard to tell since none of the lights were on... save for one light, in a back bathroom. That bathroom light had been left on, but Katherine wasn't able to see inside the bathroom itself. She could only assume it had been left on by accident.

What must have given Katherine some peace of mind was Jim's dog, Bo, who'd been inside a bedroom when she peered in a window. The dog appeared completely unharmed, so she thought nothing of it.

Because of Jim's military-related mental health issues and his longtime issues with alcoholism, Katherine likely feared in the recesses of her mind that this may have been a relapse. Or potential even something darker, perhaps a suicide. But in that moment, she could only trust that her brother could take care of himself. Instead, she hoped that he'd gone out with his girlfriend, and had lost or forgotten his cell phone, something like that.

Heading back to her own home, Katherine made plans to drop by Jim's house again the following morning if she was unable to get in touch with him.

On the morning of Monday, November 10th, 2008, Jim's sister Katherine dropped by his home again. That morning, she'd been unable to get in touch with her younger brother yet again, and consulted her other sister, Rebecca. The two were still talking when Katherine arrived at Jim's home just after 11:00 AM, and again noted that his truck, a recently-purchased 2004 Dodge Ram, was missing from his driveway. Katherine later told WAVE 3 news:

"My sister was on the phone with me the whole time."

Using her key, Katherine let herself in. She noted that Jim's cowboy boots were on the floor, and that certain things in his house were in disarray or disturbed. There was grass on the floor, and a few walls looked like they holes in them. But what really caught her eye was the bathroom... the same bathroom where, she'd noted the night before, the light had been left on.

Now getting to peer inside, Katherine discovered Jim sitting in a chair in the bathroom. But the chair had been tipped over. And the bathroom, normally white, was covered in blood.

It was immediately evident to Katherine that her younger brother was no longer with us. But as she looked at him, her first thought - that Jim had taken his own life - quickly gave rise to a more pressing reality. He hadn't done anything of the sort. In fact, Jim had been bound to that chair before being stabbed multiple times. And based on his skin color at the time, it was evident that he'd been dead for several hours already. As Katherine later remarked to WLKY:

"He was tied to his kitchen chair. They had put him in his bathroom. He was stabbed multiple times and his throat was cut."

Then, later telling reporters with WAVE 3, Katherine stated:

"I know it was a couple of seconds, but it felt like a lifetime. You're just standing there. It's an image you never... it's something you never get out of your mind."

Katherine was on the phone with her sister throughout this grisly discovery, and quickly realized that she was standing in the middle of a crime scene. She made her way outside and alerted Shelby County Sheriff's to the scene inside her younger brother's home, and they would begin responding to that call of an unresponsive person at 11:26 AM.

For the next several hours, family members and friends were only able to gather across the street from Jim's home, nearby the church he attended, as police and medical personnel walked in and out of the home, confirming what had become obvious to everyone.

Jim Duckett had been killed.

After discovering her brothers' body, Katherine Nichols would struggle with the trauma of that. In the years since, she's recounted to various publications about how that time of year - November, right at the onset of the holiday season - brings about a sense of anxiety and depression for her. I'm sure that the same could also be said of Rebecca, their other sister that was on the phone with Katherine at the time Jim's body was discovered.

In general, the entirety of Jim's family was heavily affected by his sudden and tragic loss. His uncle, Charles Duckett, told the Paducah Sun:

"We are all really distraught."

Following Jim's death, plans were made for a memorial service that would be held that following weekend, as the investigation into his death continued. Meanwhile, Jim's family members and friends could only attempt to pick themselves up and hope that justice could be done for the man that had given so much to them over the years.

As family members would learn, Jim's young puppy, Bo, was found locked in a bedroom of the home. Unharmed, Bo had clearly struggled through the ordeal, and would exhibit fits of fear over the years. Bo was adopted by Jim's family, and despite exhibiting symptoms similar to PTSD, would go on to be loved for many, many years.

Meanwhile, as the investigation into Jim's mysterious death continued, his family began to express frustration with the relative silence of the investigators, who they had come to believe weren't doing enough. Bob Cecil, Jim's brother-in-law, later told WLKY:

"We're frustrated and aggravated because we want answers."

At the request of Shelby County deputies, the Kentucky State Police were brought in to oversee the investigation into the murder of Jim Duckett.

An autopsy would confirm what officers and investigators had originally noted at the crime scene. It was evident there that Jim had been bound to a chair inside his own home, and then beaten and/or tortured for some time. Jim and the chair were found inside a bathroom, which was itself covered in blood. He'd been stabbed upwards of a dozen times, including a significant cut to his throat. It was unknown if he'd been decapitated or not, or if the killer had even attempted to do so, but his cause of death were multiple stab wounds to his body.

Yet, it was also evident that Jim and endured a significant level of trauma before his death. Bernie Napier of the Kentucky State Police later told reporters:

"It's obvious that James was tortured. To what end, I don't know if we can say at this point, but it was a very gruesome crime scene."

The autopsy would find no sign of any drugs or alcohol in Jim's system at the time of his death.

In the days ahead, police would take several items from Jim's home as evidence, including not only tools from his garage, but power tools. No sign of forced entry would be found, and some have theorized that Bo's dog door may have been the method of entry for the killer(s).

Early on, a couple of strange details were noted by reporters covering the case for local publications.

First off, Jim's truck, which he'd recently purchased - a gray, four-door 2004 Dodge Ram - was missing from the crime scene. It was reported stolen that Monday and later recovered that evening, at around 11:30 PM. But more on that in a minute.

The second thing that reporters noted was that roughly one week before Jim's murder, he'd told his family that his home had been robbed. Details of this weren't publicly known until just a couple of years ago, when the Next of Kin podcast talked to Jim's sisters and disclosed some of the details (side note: that podcast is great and does a good job covering this case over seven episodes, give it a listen). Apparently, Jim had been working out in his garage all day and when he came back in, he noticed that a small, nondescript box of jewelry was missing from his bedroom. It was unknown when it had been taken, only that it had been.

Whoever had taken the jewelry had seemingly known what to take, as it wasn't a notable jewelry box or anything, and nothing else appeared to be missing. It seems like this thief had gone into the home to take it and nothing else, indicating they'd already known where it was and what was inside of it.

Afterward, Jim had been encouraged to buy and install a security system for his home, which he'd done almost immediately after noticing the jewelry box was missing. But family would later recall that this robbery seemed to really disturb Jim, that he seemed "off" during his final days alive. Although that was a detail that was hard to properly explain afterward.

In a cruel twist, it seems like this security system hadn't been activated at the time of Jim's death - which investigators pegged as happening between just after midnight and 2-3 AM on Sunday, November 9th. And they know this based on some other evidence uncovered early on.

Remember when I mentioned that Jim's truck had been stolen? Well, it was recovered late on Monday evening nearby a Fifth-Third Bank in Shelbyville, roughly five miles away from Jim's home. As police tried to learn more about why it was there - and where it had been - they discovered that his killer(s) had driven it there. At around 3:00 AM that Sunday, just a few hours after Jim had said goodnight to his girlfriend on the phone, someone had driven his truck through the bank's drive-thru ATM and used Jim's debit card to withdraw cash from his account. They drained all of the money from his account, which wasn't more than a few hundred bucks at the time. They'd then abandoned his truck nearby, leaving behind no useable DNA for investigators.

Despite being able to go to any bank in the region to withdraw the cash, this unknown subject had gone to the same bank that Jim used to deposit and withdraw money himself, showing at least some level of familiarity with his habits. Investigators would theorize that they'd possibly beaten or tortured Jim for his ATM information, before slitting his throat and leaving him for dead. Afterward, they'd driven his truck to the bank and abandoned it there.

Police would work out on figuring where his truck had been in the meantime - if it had driven anywhere else or been seen by any locals - and would encourage anyone with information to come forward. They'd also work to figure out whether or not the robbery of his home more than a week beforehand was related to his murder.

Months later, authorities would release some surveillance stills of the individual seen driving Jim's truck through the drive-thru ATM. Sadly, though, it was hard to make out the person in the photo with any level of clarity. The ATM had been recently maintained, and the camera lens had been put on improperly, resulting in the images it took appearing blurry.

Brittney Claycomb, Jim's niece, later told WAVE news in 2012 (four years after his murder):

"It's a big giant blob. The only thing you can tell in the picture is that they are wearing flannel."

It does seem like the offender was wearing a long-sleeve flannel shirt at the time. To my eye, it also appears like they are wearing a dark beanie, and maybe even a facial covering of some kind. But you be the judge: take a look at the photo by checking out the links in the show notes. And if it looks familiar, please reach out to the Kentucky State Police.

Despite indications that this had been a financially-motivated crime, it was hard for police to analyze the wounds Jim had received and theorize that they'd been anything but personal. For that reason, it was believed by many that the unknown subject(s) that had killed him was/were someone Jim had previously known... perhaps someone that believed he'd somehow slighted them in the past and wanted to get even.

Investigators theorized that the killer(s) had gone into a type of uncontrollable rage, perhaps suffering some kind of mental break or from a longtime mental illness. During the crime, they seemed to show an extreme amount of anger toward Jim, with his sister, Katherine Nichols, later telling WLKY:

"... he was tortured. He was brutalized for hours before they cut his throat."

Officials with the KSP publicly supported this belief that the crime was personal in nature, with Bernie Napier of the KSP telling WHAS 11:

"We think that the person or persons... sought him out specifically. We don't think that this was a random act of violence that could have been anybody. We think that they specifically sought after James Duckett."

The idea that this crime had been extremely personal gave some of Jim's friends and family enough cause to believe that someone from his past may have been involved... someone that they knew, or at least, were aware of.

This potential suspect was first floated in the "Next of Kin" podcast as someone that Jim had come to associate with after leaving the military, as he struggled to adapt to life post-military and through his alcoholism. In 2006, amidst one of his benders, this friend had seemingly taken advantage of him and stole his debit card, using it to steal cash and withdraw money from an ATM. They were later found out and charged with theft, ordered to pay restitutiton to Jim. As noted on the "Next of Kin" podcast, however, they were still making these payments through 2008, but stopped making them in September and October... the months preceding Jim's murder. Conveniently, though, they began making the payments again in November: coincidentally, on November 10th, the day after Jim's murder. As detailed on the "Next of Kin" podcast, this person also had a history of aggravated assault and battery, having committed crimes with a knife as recently as 2000.

It's unknown if this person was responsible for the crime, but considering the time that's passed since Jim Duckett's murder without any resolution, they remain just as likely a suspect as any.

In the years to come, investigators would seemingly have zero luck rousing any new leads or narrowing in their focus in any specific suspects, and the case didn't seem to gain much traction in even the local press. Outside of a few articles over a handful of years, the story of Jim Duckett was barely known to those within Shelbyville, let alone those outside of the area.

Family members and friends were told that interviews of certain persons of interest had taken place, but clearly, that hadn't gotten investigators anywhere. And over time, the relationship between the Kentucky State Police and Jim's family began to disintegrate, because so many investigators came and went through the investigation that the family often didn't know who to talk to.

In one of the few public statements they made after taking on the investigation, authorities with the KSP remained hopeful that advances in technology could assist them. If not directly with evidence found at the crime scene, then perhaps with the surveillance footage from the ATM, which had captured Jim's supposed killer withdrawing cash. Jim's niece, Brittney Claycomb, told WAVE news in 2012:

"There's a couple new computer programs that are out that might be able to enhance those pixels and at least get a little bit more facial characteristics or body characteristics. And there's also a new program that can tell body size."

It's unknown if any of these programs were helpful in clarifying the image for law enforcement, as they've made no comment on this over the dozen or so years since this statement was made.

In a spurt of news from that same year, 2012, it was revealed that Jim's killer had taken a trophy from the crime scene. At the time, authorities chose not to disclose details of this trophy (and still haven't), but revealed that if this were to be discovered, it would undoubtedly prove a direct link between the killer and the crime scene. Only time will tell whether this ever gets discovered.

One of the theories that hangs like a cloud almost every violent murder or strange disappearance is the belief that the victim had some tie to criminal activity, whether it be drug dealing, prostitution, illegal gambling, etc. This is something that I usually mention with a sense of frustration because this often gets applied to cases when there is absolutely no evidence to support it.

For example, whenever anyone is killed in a rural setting, websleuths and other conspiracy-minded people jump to the belief that they must have stumbled upon some clandestine drug deal, or were themselves involved in some similarly shady activities. While I'm not trying to say this never happens (it does from time to time), it happens a lot less than people think. More often than not, crime is more... how do I say this? More boring than that. In this hypothetical scenario, it's less likely that someone stumbled upon a drug deal, but more likely, that they were killed by someone they went out in the woods with.

To that end, some have theorized that because of the gory details of this particular crime, that Jim Duckett must have been involved in some kind of illicit activity: that he was dealing drugs, or was running guns, or had covered up some criminal conduct from his time as a CSI in the Army. But this seems to be made up whole cloth, based on absolutely no evidence whatsoever, and it's something that Jim's family - namely his sisters - have tried to work against. Katherine Nichols, his older sister, told the Sentinel News:

"My brother was not involved in anything, and I know this for a fact, because police told me he was not involved in anything. So, it's not just a sister defending her brother. The police said he was not doing anything. He did not deserve to be murdered."

Another theory that has emerged over the years is the belief that Jim's murder might be tied to a similar case that unfolded in Aurora, Colorado a few years beforehand. This is a story that might be familiar to longtime listeners of Unresolved as one that I covered back in 2018, that of Al Kite.

Oakey "Al" Kite was a single man living in Aurora, Colorado in a townhouse along with a roommate. In the Spring of 2004, this roommate moved out, and Al began searching for a new potential roommate to move in with him. He advertised it in just a few places, and before long, received a response from a man calling himself "Robert Cooper." The two seemed to get along well, so "Robert Cooper" moved in later that month. Al's body was eventually discovered in his own basement, bound and having endured a significant level of torture beforehand. Whoever had killed him had seemingly tried to inflict an extensive amount of pain, and police were never able to find a motive for all of the torture... as far as they could tell, that had been done for the sole purpose of inflicting pain upon Al.

As investigators tried to learn more about "Robert Cooper," they discovered that this unknown man had seemingly concocted a fictional identity to carry out this crime. The name wasn't real, and neither was the other information provided by this potential tenant. His prior address didn't pan out, and his cell phone was a burner phone purchased more than a month beforehand.

In addition to a significant level of forethought, this offender had then gone through the effort of painstakingly covering up the crime. After killing Al, this killer had submerged most of the evidence in bleach. They'd disposed of their burner phone in an area populated by the unhoused population, and even drove Al's vehicle and abandoned it away from his home. Before doing so, however, they'd driven through a nearby ATM, withdrawing $1000, which was not all of the money that Al had at the time, showing some kind of restraint (and indicating that financial gain may not have been their primary motivator). This offender wore a ski mask and gloves at the time, which is what the ATM captured that evening in May 2004.

Like the killer of Jim Duckett, Al Kite's killer has never been publicly identified. So for that reason, it's easy to see why some have pointed out the similarities between both crimes. Both Jim and Al were middle-aged white men that lived alone at the time of their deaths. Both were killed in their own home after being beaten and tortured extensively. Both were bound and cut and/or tortured with knives. Both had their vehicles stolen by their killer(s) afterward, who then used their debit cards to withdraw cash from an ATM. Both of their vehicles were then disposed of in public locations, and their killers had disappeared into the night.

However, it's hard to tell if one may have just drawn inspiration from the other. Maybe Jim Duckett's killer(s) had heard about the case of Al Kite from four years beforehand, and decided to recreate it in their own way. Or maybe this is just a case of two sadistic individuals having the same general idea, but carrying it out in different ways. After all, the crime involving Jim Duckett seemed more spontaneous on its surface, with the murder of Al Kite showing a significant level of foresight and careful planning.

If you want to learn more about the Al Kite case, please go back into the Unresolved archives and check out that episode from 2018. Maybe I'll even revisit it soon, and include some new information that has been learned in the time since. As it stands right now, though, I'm not sure there's a direct connection between the two cases... but you let me know what you think.

On the five-year mark of the case, back in 2013, Jim's sister Katherine Nichols told WDRB:

"I want this solved. I want these people off the street. I want justice for my brother. I'd like to move on with my life."

In the same interview, Katherine admitted that she was forever changed by the events that had unfolded years beforehand, in November of 2008:

"To find him tied to a chair and brutally tortured. I told you the other things they did to him and to have his throat slit and the look on his face. And not only did I lose Jim - I lost me. My children lost me and my husband lost me. And I'm not the same person."

A $10,000 reward for information was offered, and was at one point raised to a $25,000 reward. Yet it's unknown if that amount is still being currently offered, as the KSP claim that it is more substantial than $10k but haven't given any details on it. Sadly, the KSP have remained pretty silent about this case for some time. This is something touched on quite a bit on the "Next of Kin" podcast, which I've referenced a few times now (and is worth checking out if you want to hear directly from some of the people involved in this case). Despite being the main investigative body in charge of overseeing justice in this case, the Kentucky State Police have seemingly dug in their heels on many issues, for some unknown reason that eludes both the family members of Jim as well as his many friends, who continue to plead for resolution. At certain points, the KSP has seemed obstinate, if not careless, in their handling of this investigation, and Jim's family doesn't care for the feeling that they'd been sidelined entirely.

Over time, many have come to believe that at least two individuals had to have been involved in this crime. After all, there was no apparent sign of the offenders arriving at or departing the crime scene, having left it in Jim's truck, but showing no sign on how they'd arrived. This indicated that they may have had a second vehicle that they arrived at the scene in, which followed behind Jim's truck on the way to the bank, where his truck was later abandoned (and where the individual that went through the ATM was likely picked up). It would also make sense that two offenders would have been needed to subdue Jim. While I'm well aware that not everyone in the military is Rambo, Jim was still a pretty strong, capable guy that could handle himself, and it's unlikely that he'd have been subdued by a single individual.

If you think you know anything about this case, please reach out to authorities. You can contact the Frankfort post of the Kentucky State Police at (502) 222-2221. In addition, I'd like to encourage you to reach out to the Kentucky State Police and let them know that this case deserves much more attention than it's received in recent years. Send them messages through social media, send them emails, contact their non-emergency numbers, let them know that Jim and his family deserve, if not closure, then resolution in his unsolved murder. There is still hope that this case can be solved, that DNA evidence recovered at the scene can be properly tested and compared to suspects, perhaps through genealogical testing. But it seems like the KSP had little motivation to do so themselves, so maybe the extra incentive may help get this case over the finish line.

Until such a time, the story of Jim Duckett will remain unresolved.

Episode Information

Episode Information

Writing, research, hosting, and production by Micheal Whelan

Published on August 12, 2024

Music Credits

Original music created by Micheal Whelan

Outro/theme music created and composed by Ailsa Traves

Sources and Other Reading

1. Wikipedia. (n.d.). *Shelbyville, Kentucky*. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelbyville,_Kentucky

2. Find a Grave. (n.d.). James Carl Duckett. Retrieved from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/145335659/james-carl-duckett

3. Next of Kin: The Unsolved Murder of Jim Duckett, Spotify. (n.d.). *Podcast*. Retrieved from https://open.spotify.com/show/6bcMmy25TmpjyN63wTE74q

4. Legacy.com. (2023). James Duckett obituary. *Legacy.com*. Retrieved from https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/louisville/name/james-duckett-obituary?id=49571957

5. Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Jim Duckett. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/414430940/?terms=%22Jim%20Duckett%22%20&match=1

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7. Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Jim Duckett. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/695449808/?terms=%22Jim%20Duckett%22%20&match=1

8. Ryan, J. (2008). Family seeks justice six months after slaying. *Kentucky.com*. Retrieved from https://www.kentucky.com/news/state/kentucky/article43982619.html

9. WLKY. (2009). Family seeks justice six months after slaying. *WLKY*. Retrieved from https://www.wlky.com/article/family-seeks-justice-six-months-after-slaying/3726123

10. WAVE 3 News. (2009). Family still without answers 11 months after brother’s murder. *WAVE 3 News*. Retrieved from https://www.wave3.com/story/11290618/family-still-without-answers-11-months-after-brothers-murder/

11. [Video]. (2008). *YouTube*. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylCYmQhlzCc

12. WLKY. (2010). Large reward offered in cold case of slain Shelbyville man. *WLKY*. Retrieved from https://www.wlky.com/article/large-reward-offered-in-cold-case-of-slain-shelbyville-man-1/3777923

13. WAVE 3 News. (2012). Family hopeful for fresh leads in cold case murder. *WAVE 3 News*. Retrieved from https://www.wave3.com/story/20037049/family-hopeful-for-fresh-leads-in-cold-case-murder/

14. Shay McAlister. (2018). Unsolved: Behind the scenes of "Tied Up and Tortured". *WHAS11*. Retrieved from https://www.whas11.com/article/news/crime/unsolved/unsolved-behind-the-scenes-of-tied-up-and-tortured/417-8f5b341b-18dd-4836-8360-29b3a02dfc36

15. WDRB. (2013). Murder of Shelby County veteran nears fifth anniversary. *WDRB*. Retrieved from https://www.wdrb.com/news/murder-of-shelby-county-veteran-nears-fifth-anniversary/article_2ee7ac8b-9f77-50fe-9da0-a80a6d5d212c.html

16. WDRB. (2013). Shelbyville veteran murder still unsolved 5 years later. *WDRB*. Retrieved from https://www.wdrb.com/news/shelbyville-veteran-murder-still-unsolved-5-years-later/article_4acb3cd8-7a23-58fc-b84a-818dc0b6e293.html

17. Shay McAlister. (2018). Unsolved: Tied Up and Tortured. *WHAS11*. Retrieved from https://www.whas11.com/article/news/crime/unsolved/unsolved-tied-up-and-tortured/417-88a5873a-dd90-469c-bda3-8ee9a89ee052

18. The Sentinel News. (2023). Podcast brings new eyes to murder case. *PMG-KY1*. Retrieved from https://www.pmg-ky1.com/sentinel_news/podcast-brings-new-eyes-to-murder-case/article_eabf83c2-6631-5736-989d-e0477e47a65b.html

19. AMW Fans. (2018). Unknown James Duckett killer, Kentucky. *AMW Fans*. Retrieved from https://amwfans.com/thread/7372/unknown-james-duckett-killer-kentucky

20. The Sentinel News. (2023). Duckett murder remains unsolved 15 years later. *PMG-KY1*. Retrieved from https://www.pmg-ky1.com/sentinel_news/duckett-murder-remains-unsolved-15-yrs-later/article_ce62c7e4-a709-50a4-98eb-6d0020dcb474.html

21. Archive.is. (n.d.). *Archived webpage*. Retrieved from https://archive.is/F6JeV

22. Reddit. (2020). Did Oakey "Al" Kite’s killer murder a Kentucky man? *Reddit*. Retrieved from https://old.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/js5ms7/did_oakey_al_kites_killer_murder_a_kentucky_man/

23. Websleuths. (2020). KY - James "Jim" Duckett, 43, former military police, tortured to death, Shelbyville, 11/10/2008. *Websleuths*. Retrieved from https://www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/ky-james-%E2%80%9Cjim%E2%80%9D-duckett-43-former-military-police-tortured-to-death-shelbyville-11-10-2008.572353/

24. McAlister, S. (n.d.). *Unsolved: Jim Duckett*. [Video]. Facebook. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/shaymcalisterTV/videos/unsolved-jim-duckett/318145925508427/

25. Reddit. (2021). The November 9, 2008, murder of James "Jim" Duckett. *Reddit*. Retrieved from https://old.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/oymxo8/the_november_9_2008_murder_of_james_jim/