LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A trial nearly a decade in the making starts Tuesday morning in the murder of Crystal Rogers.
This time, a jury will decide whether her boyfriend at the time of her disappearance, Brooks Houck, and his alleged accomplice, Joseph Lawson, are innocent orguilty.
Crystal Rogers (WDRB File Photo)
Rogers, a 35-year-old mother of five from Bardstown, Kentucky, was last seen alive July 3, 2015. After two days of family and friends trying to reach her with no success, Rogers’ mother, Sherry Ballard, filed a missing person’s report July 5.
During a news conference in the days after Rogers disappeared, the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office said Houck— who is also the father of one of her children — was the last person to see her alive at his family farm.
At the time, the sheriff said he was fulling cooperating with the investigation. But just months after Rogers vanished, Houck was named the main suspect in the case.
Now, a week before the 10th anniversary of her disappearance, he will stand trial for her murder starting Tuesday in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
During the initial days of the investigation, Houck was questioned by lead detective Jon Snow with the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office.
“My job is to find Crystal, right? However that happens, my job is to find her. Whether I find her, hopefully alive and well and safe somewhere, or not, my job is to find her,” Snow tells Houck during that interview. “If I don’t find her alive and well, my job is to prosecute the person that did something. If that turns out to be you, myjob is to prosecute you.”
Family, friends and strangers spent countless hours looking for the missing Bardstown mom. One person was noticeably absent from the searches: Houck.
“Right now, you’rethe main person of interest,” Snow tells Houck during that 2015 interview. “Yes, that’s right, and I explained to you the reason that you’re the main person of interest, right, you’re the last person to see her alive.”
Houck wasn’t indicted in the case until September 2023. Prosecutors allege he conspired to kill Rogers, then worked closely with others to cover it up.
Joseph Lawson, one of Houck’s alleged accomplices, will be tried at the same time at Houck. Prosecutors will try to convince a jury that Houck was involved in Rogers’ murder, and that Joseph Lawson knew about it and helped Houck cover it up.
Shortly after her mother reported her disappearance, Rogers’ car was found abandoned on the Bluegrass Parkway with a flat tire. Her keys, purse and cellphone were still inside the car.
“So I’m trying to figure out when it got on the parkway and, if I can, who was driving it on the parkway,” Snow asked Houck during their 2015 interview. “Maybe she was driving it, maybe somebody else was driving it.”
Investigators believe Joseph Lawson moved Rogers’ car and abandoned it on the Bluegrass Parkway.
“I can’t figure out why she would walk away from the car and leave the purse there,” Snow tells Houck. “When we took the bloodhounds up there, the lady commented that it was though she wasn’t even there.”
The case has gripped Kentucky and garnered national attention over the years. Because of the intense publicity surrounding the case, the trials were moved to Bowling Green, in Warren County.
Both Houck and Joseph Lawson were transported to the county jail last week for the trial. They’re charged with different crimes that carry different penalties.
Houck will be tried on charges of complicity to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence, and faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
Joseph Lawson is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence, facing up to 25 years behind bars.
“Complicity to murder does require that a murder actually took place. So, with one of these defendants, the commonwealth should have to prove that there was an agreement, but doesn’t need to prove that a murder occurred,” Greg Simms, legal expert, said. “But with Brooks Houck, the commonwealth should be required to provide that a murder did in fact happen.”
While the investigation has mainly focused on Houck for the past decade, very little physical evidence has been made public, if it exists at all — including where her body is, a murder weaponor an eyewitness to the actual slaying.
It’s rare in Kentucky for murder cases to make it to trial without any of this evidence, attorneys told WDRB News. Also, it’s not clear how and when Rogers died and exactly what the motive was, though Houck has admitted they had a “stressful relationship.”
However, a substantial amount of circumstantial evidence has come out, most recently throughout the May trial of one of Houck’s co-defendants, Steve Lawson, who admitted he, at Houck’s request, agreed to help his son, Joseph Lawson, move Rogers’ vehicle the night she vanished.
Steve Lawson, 54, was tried separately on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence. A jury found him guilty May 30marking the first conviction in the case. The jury recommended 17 years in prison for Steve Lawson, through a judge will have the final say. A formal sentencing date is scheduled for Aug. 6 in Nelson County.
Steve Lawson’s trial lasted just four days. The trial involving Houck and Joseph Lawson is expected to take longer.
The judge has once again banned cameras inside the courtroom during the trial.
WDRB will have team coverage on air and online of the Houck/Lawson trial from the Warren County Courthouse in Bowling Green, Kentucky, beginning Tuesday, June 24.
Previous Coverage:
Crystal Rogers murder case returns to court in one of Kentucky’s most closely watched trials
With no body or weapon, the circumstantial case against Brooks Houck begins Tuesday
Brooks Houck, Joseph Lawson moved to Bowling Green for Crystal Rogers murder trial
Timeline of the 10 years leading up to the 2nd Crystal Rogers murder trial
Bardstown community hopes Brooks Houck’s trial brings answers in Crystal Rogers case
Judge seals video from Steve Lawson trial in Crystal Rogers case pending future trials
Legal analyst breaks down challenges of 2nd Crystal Rogers murder trial
Attorneys for Steve Lawson ask judge to throw out his conviction in Crystal Rogers’ case
After 10 years, first conviction in Crystal Rogers’ murder brings hope for justice to Bardstown
Steve Lawson found guilty on all charges in connection to Crystal Rogers’ murder
Brooks Houck’s brother and mother are suspects in Crystal Rogers’ disappearance, prosecutor says
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