Brooks Houck, Joseph Lawson face charges in Crystal Rogers murder trial. What to know

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6 days ago

Brooks Houck, the man accused of killing Crystal Rogers will stand trial alongside an alleged co-conspirator starting June 24, roughly a decade after the mother suddenly disappeared from a small town in rural Kentucky.
Houck, 43, is charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence in the case. Joseph Lawson, 34, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence — the same charges his father, Steven Lawson, was convicted for in late May 2025.
Here is what to know about the high-profile case and upcoming trial:
Rogers, a 35-year-old mother of five children, went missing around July 3, 2015, from Bardstown. Her car was found a few days later abandoned on Bluegrass Parkway with her keys, phone and purse inside.
Rogers was not known to go anywhere without her children, according to the FBI. Rogers' body has never been found, but she is presumed dead by investigators.
Houck was Rogers' boyfriend at the time of her disappearance and is the father of her youngest child.
He was named a suspect early in the investigation, but he was not arrested until September 2023.
Houck is charged with murder "by intentionally or under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life wantonly causing the death of Crystal Rogers," according to court records.
He has told investigators that he last saw Rogers alive when they visited his family's farm the night before she disappeared. He has denied involvement in the disappearance and has pleaded not guilty.
Houck is connected to his co-defendants through his work as a prominent real estate businessman in Nelson County. He is a current officer for Houck Rentals in Bardstown, according to Kentucky Secretary of State records. Both Lawsons have worked for him in the past.
Joseph Lawson, Steven Lawson's son, was arrested in September 2023. He was the first person arrested in the case.
He has pleaded not guilty to his charges.
Houck and Lawson will stand trial in Bowling Green, the county seat of Warren County. Steven Lawson's trial was also held in Warren County.
Judge Charles Simms III ordered both trials take place there following motions by all three defendants to move court proceedings outside of Nelson County.
The co-defendants argued that keeping the trial in Nelson County would impede their rights to a fair and impartial trial because the publicity and news coverage the case has received could lead to a prejudiced jury pool.
Selecting a fair jury is among the biggest challenges in a high-profile case such as this, University of Louisville law professor Russell L. Weaver told The Courier Journal.
"You really just need people who agree that they will listen to the evidence and decide the case based on the evidence, and not based upon what they heard in the media," he said.
A jury found Steven Lawson guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence May 30 in connection with Rogers' disappearance and recommended a 17-year sentence.
His sentencing is set for Aug. 6 in Nelson County.
Steven Lawson admitted his guilt to the tampering with physical evidence charge during trial, claiming he helped his son move Rogers' car by picking him up from the side of Bluegrass Parkway when the car "broke down." He testified that he was unaware of why his son was moving the car or of any conspiracy to murder Rogers, however.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, called him an "essential partner" in the alleged murder.
No other individuals have been charged in the case, though special prosecutor Shane Young hinted at the possibility of future developments during the first trial.
Young name dropped Brooks Houck's brother and mother — Nick and Rosemary Houck — as alleged co-conspirators.
Nick Houck was employed by the Bardstown Police Department at the time of Rogers' disappearance and was fired for allegedly interfering in the investigation, according to court records.
At Houck's arraignment in October 2023, Young said investigators had recovered a gun sold by Nick Houck under an assumed name that could be a match for the murder weapon in the killing of Rogers' father, Tommy Ballard.
Ballard was killed 16 months after Rogers' disappearance while getting ready for a hunting trip with his 12-year-old grandson on family property next to Bluegrass Parkway in Bardstown. Ballard was shot once in the chest, instantly killing him, according to a report from the FBI.
No one has been charged in his death, and Kentucky State Police officials have said they do not believe his grandson to be a suspect.
During that arraignment, Young also said Houck had family members record secret grand jury proceedings in 2015, The Courier Journal reported.
It is unclear where investigations into Nick and Rosemary Houck currently stand.
Contact reporter Killian Baarlaer at [e-mail] or @bkillian72 on X.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Crystal Rogers case: Brooks Houck, Joseph Lawson trial starts in June