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KY CRYSTAL ROGERS: Missing from Bardstown, KY - 3 July 2015 - Age 35 *GUILTY*

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abcnews.go.com

Parents of Missing Kentucky Woman Crystal Rogers Suspect Foul Play

The parents of a Kentucky woman last seen 10 days ago suspect foul play in her disappearance.
abcnews.go.com abcnews.go.com
The parents of a Kentucky woman last seen 10 days ago suspect foul play in her disappearance.

Crystal Rogers, 35, a mother of five, was last seen by her live-in boyfriend, Brooks Houck, on July 3, according to the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office.

Houck has said he had nothing to with Rogers’ disappearance. He has been extremely cooperative with investigators, police said, and he took a polygraph test.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Officer fired after 'tampering with brother's missing girlfriend case'

Mother-of-five Crystal Rogers, 35, was last seen on July 3. Her boyfriend Brooks Houck is the only suspect. His brother Nick was fired from the Bardstown Police Department.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
A Kentucky police officer has been fired for allegedly tampering with an investigation regarding the missing girlfriend of his brother, who has just been named the only suspect in her disappearance.

Crystal Rogers, 35, has been missing since July 3. Her boyfriend, Brooks Houck, has claimed the last time he saw the mother of five was the night before, playing games on her phone.

The only clue in Rogers disappearance was her maroon Chevy Impala, which was found unlocked and with a flat tire on Bluegrass Parkway on Saturday.

Inside were her keys, purse and uncharged phone.

edited by staff to add media link
www.crimewatchers.net

CRYSTAL ROGERS has been #missing from Bardstown, #KENTUCKY since 3 July 2015 - Age 35

Crystal, a mother of five, was last seen by her live-in boyfriend, Brooks Houck, on July 3, according to the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office. Houck has said he had nothing to with Rogers’ disappearance. He has been extremely cooperative with...
www.crimewatchers.net www.crimewatchers.net
 
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www.wdrb.com

Steve Lawson had minor involvement in Crystal Rogers case, but didn't help in murder, attorney says

The trial for one of three men charged in the 2015 murder of Crystal Rogers began Tuesday afternoon.
www.wdrb.com www.wdrb.com

Steve Lawson had minor involvement in Crystal Rogers case, but didn't help in murder, attorney says​

The trial for one of three men charged in the 2015 murder of Crystal Rogers began Tuesday afternoon in Bowling Green with both prosecutors and the defense agreeing on one thing.

They both said Steve Lawson is guilty of tampering with physical evidence, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

But defense attorney Darren Wolff told jurors the prosecution "overreached" when they also charged Lawson with conspiring with Brooks Houck to murder Rogers in early July 2015.

"He is a person that has a portion of involvement in this case," Wolff told jurors on the first day of Lawson's trial. Lawson's son, Joseph, and Houck, Rogers' boyfriend at the time she disappeared, will stand trial in June.

Steve Lawson has said Joseph Lawson drove Rogers' car, and he picked his son up when the vehicle had a flat tire, leaving it on the side of Bluegrass Parkway with her purse and phone still inside.

Wolff said Lawson moved the drivers seat forward to make it appear that a smaller person, not his son, had been driving.

But Wolff told the jury they would not hear any evidence that Lawson had anything to do with Rogers' disappearance. And he noted that her body has never been found, a problem for prosecutors he highlighted repeatedly.

"Where is Crystal Rogers?" Wolff said during his opening statements of the Bardstown mother's murder trial. "What happened to this poor woman. ... There are more unanswered questions than there are answered questions."
 
Bardstown

'Bombshell' testimony, deleted calls: Takeaways from Day 2 of Steve Lawson's trial in Crystal Rogers case​

Jurors heard new testimony and details about Steve Lawson's phone as the first trial in Crystal Rogers’ death continued Wednesday.
Author: Joseph Garcia
Published: 5:57 PM EDT May 28, 2025
Updated: 6:51 PM EDT May 28, 2025
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — A 15-person jury returned to a Bowling Green courtroom Wednesday to hear more testimony in the first trial of the Crystal Rogers case.
Steve Lawson is charged with conspiracy to murder and tampering with physical evidence in the Bardstown mother's 2015 disappearance.
Here's a quick recap of what happened and the biggest takeaways from the second day of Lawson's trial.

TONIGHT ON WHAS11+: Tune in at 9:30 p.m. ET every night for special trial coverage in the Crystal Rogers case with Shay McAlister, Isaiah Kim-Martinez and Doug Proffitt, as well as insight from WHAS11 legal analyst Nick Mudd.

1 . Houck family under investigation​

Within the first hour of testimony, Prosecutor Shane Young said two members of Brooks Houck’s family are still under investigation as co-conspirators in Rogers’ case: his mother, Rosemary, and brother, Nick.
Nick Houck is a former Bardstown Police officer who had been fired from the department for his involvement in the investigation. He called his brother during a 2015 police interview, advising Brooks to end the conversation.
Kentucky State Police later questioned Nick about the call and Rogers’ disappearance. He also agreed to take a polygraph, which he failed.

This isn’t the first time Nick’s name has been brought up in the investigation since then.
During Brooks Houck’s arraignment, Young said prosecutors purchased a rifle from Nick Houck that is believed to have been used to kill Rogers’ father, Tommy Ballard. He also claimed Nick sold it to them using a fake name.
Rosemary Houck owns the Houck family’s farm, a 245-acre property on Paschal Ballard Lane, which is located about nine miles south of downtown Bardstown.
The farm is the last place Rogers was seen alive on July 3, 2015, according to police. It’s been searched several times for evidence.
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Credit: WHAS11 News
Rosemary Houck walks inside the courtroom, an hour ahead of the hearing for her son, Brooks. | Feb. 8, 2024
Young has also previously accused Rosemary, and several other members of the Houck family, of secretly recording grand jury proceedings to “get their story straight.”
He said the jury was determining Houck’s initial bond and charges.
Neither Nick nor Rosemary Houck have been arrested or charged in connection with Rogers’ disappearance or death.

2. Witness: ‘I would be next if I said anything.’​


Several witnesses testified about the strange behavior Lawson exhibited around the time Rogers disappeared, including a woman named Elizabeth Chesser. Her mom was previously married to Steve Lawson.
She said they were watching a documentary on Rogers' disappearance and heard the phone call between Houck and Lawson play during the police interview.
She said they recognized Lawson's voice, adding that it was the first time they ever talked about the case.
Chesser testified that Lawson left his ex-wife Tammy because "she knew he had committed murder and she was going to tell on him."
“That’s not something you forget,” she said.
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Credit: Sydney Young
Elizabeth Chesser testifies during Day 2 of Steve Lawson's trial in the Crystal Rogers case. | May 28, 2025
Lawson's attorney, Daren Wolff, asked her why she didn't report to police that she had been told Lawson committed murder, calling her statement a "bombshell."
Chesser explained she was afraid if she did, "I would be next if I said anything."

3. Steve Lawson’s cell phone​

A crucial piece of evidence for the prosecution has been Steve Lawson's cell phone.
Jurors heard from multiple experts who were able to track the phone's general location around the time Rogers' disappeared.
One expert testified that police found several phone calls had been deleted between July 3 and July 9, 2015. More than one of those calls were between Lawson and Brooks Houck.
Melissa Dover, a crime and intelligence analyst with the Elizabethtown Police Department, said one report found multiple calls the night Rogers disappeared between Steve Lawson, Joseph Lawson and Steve's ex-wife Tammy Lawson.
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Credit: Sydney Young
Steve Lawson sits between his defense attorneys as new witnesses testify during Day 2 of his trial in the Crystal Rogers case. | May 28, 2025
The report showed Joseph Lawson called Tammy and Steve Lawson multiple times the night Rogers disappeared, but many went to voicemail.
Steve Lawson eventually called his son around 12:01 a.m. on July 4, 2015 with the call lasting a few seconds.
Joseph Lawson called Steve Lawson back a few minutes later and they spoke for just under 3 minutes.

Steve Lawson then called Brooks Houck around 12:07 a.m. for around 15 seconds.
Joseph Lawson then called Steve Lawson and they spoke for around 3 minutes and 45 seconds just after 1 a.m. that night.
Tammy Lawson then called Steve Lawson just before 2 a.m. and they spoke for more than 8 minutes.
Prosecutor Shane Young has previously said he believes Tammy, who has since passed away, had knowledge of Rogers’ death and was involved in the plot to kill her. He also believes she was there on the Bluegrass Parkway when the Lawsons were moving Rogers’ car.
The jury later heard portions of Steve Lawson's 2023 grand jury testimony in which his story about the brief late-night phone call to Houck changed.
At first he said the call was to let Houck know he had wrapped up work for the day and admitted to ending up on the Bluegrass Parkway after the call due to some alleged altercation that had occurred.
He later said it was to let him know that Rogers' car had been moved. During his September 2023 testimony, Lawson explained Houck had asked him to move the car, which he agreed to do.
"[Houck] said he wanted his wife gone," Lawson told investigators at the time. "To me, it means he wanted her deceased."
The jury returns to court at 8:30 a.m. CT on Thursday. WHAS11 will again provide updates throughout the day.
TONIGHT ON WHAS11+: Tune in at 9:30 p.m. ET for special trial coverage in the Crystal Rogers case with Shay McAlister, Isaiah Kim-Martinez and Doug Proffitt, as well as insight from WHAS11 legal analyst Nick Mudd.
 
Haven't listened to all, hearing a bit while I get the link for others to access until I get to watching. bombshell with phone call of mom and son and hard on victim family.

Heard a lot of Nick Houck again and again.

Prosecution rested. Defense has like two witnesses, what I am hearing just until I post this link. Should be in verdict watch soon it sounds like.

Nick comes up a lot.
 
www.courier-journal.com

Closing arguments complete, deliberations underway on Day 4 of Steven Lawson trial

The jury is now deliberating. The judge has said he hopes to reach a verdict by the end of the day.
www.courier-journal.com

Steven Lawson takes stand on Day 4 of trial; defense rests​

Steven Lawson took the stand May 30 in his trial related to the case of Crystal Rogers, the Bardstown mother who disappeared 2015.

The defense rested its case after Lawson, 54, gave his testimony during the trial, where he faces charges of conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence.

He was the second person to testify on the fourth day of the trial, following brief testimony from his mother. Lawson admitted to picking up his son, Joseph Lawson, from Bluegrass Parkway in Bardstown after the car “broke down” on the side of the road the night when Rogers was last seen, but denied having any knowledge of Brooks Houck’s alleged murder of Rogers or any role in planning it.


While on the stand May 30, Lawson said he moved the driver’s seat forward in Rogers’ car and retrieved his son’s mini Louisville Slugger bat that he carried with him everywhere. Lawson’s attorneys have already conceded that he is guilty with tampering with physical evidence.

Prosecutors argued that Lawson agreeing to help move the car after Houck told him he “wanted his wife gone” could constitute a conspiracy.


Both sides will now give their closing arguments before the jury begins deliberations. Judge Charles Simms III told jurors he hopes to have the case “resolved” by the end of the day.
 
SheWhoMustNotBeNamed said:
www.courier-journal.com

Closing arguments complete, deliberations underway on Day 4 of Steven Lawson trial

The jury is now deliberating. The judge has said he hopes to reach a verdict by the end of the day.
www.courier-journal.com

Steven Lawson takes stand on Day 4 of trial; defense rests​

Steven Lawson took the stand May 30 in his trial related to the case of Crystal Rogers, the Bardstown mother who disappeared 2015.

The defense rested its case after Lawson, 54, gave his testimony during the trial, where he faces charges of conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence.

He was the second person to testify on the fourth day of the trial, following brief testimony from his mother. Lawson admitted to picking up his son, Joseph Lawson, from Bluegrass Parkway in Bardstown after the car “broke down” on the side of the road the night when Rogers was last seen, but denied having any knowledge of Brooks Houck’s alleged murder of Rogers or any role in planning it.


While on the stand May 30, Lawson said he moved the driver’s seat forward in Rogers’ car and retrieved his son’s mini Louisville Slugger bat that he carried with him everywhere. Lawson’s attorneys have already conceded that he is guilty with tampering with physical evidence.

Prosecutors argued that Lawson agreeing to help move the car after Houck told him he “wanted his wife gone” could constitute a conspiracy.


Both sides will now give their closing arguments before the jury begins deliberations. Judge Charles Simms III told jurors he hopes to have the case “resolved” by the end of the day.
Click to expand...
That was fast! I sure wish we could have watched this trial.
 
He took the stand. Would think he was hard crossed but not much about it. Yeah I hate all these trials going on at once and ones not televised especially, at least if they are we can go back and watch. I care about this one as much as many but haven't stayed on top of it, too many others going on. I've seen too many at once but I don't think anything like this time with TONS of them overlapping and such.
 
www.wave3.com

Steven Lawson requests new trial after guilty verdict

Lawson was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence on May 30.
www.wave3.com www.wave3.com

Steven Lawson requests new trial after guilty verdict​

Steven Lawson has filed for a new trial less than a week after a Warren County jury found him guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence in connection to the disappearance of Crystal Rogers in 2015.

In the motion, Lawson’s defense team cited eight reasons for requesting a new trial, saying that the court failed to provide jury instructions that accurately reflected Kentucky law in relation to the conspiracy to commit murder charge.

The testimony of witness Elizabeth Chesser was also brought up in the motion. Court took a recess during her trial after she said that Lawson told her his ex-wife left him because she knew “he committed murder.” The defense called this testimony “inflammatory.”

Upon return from the recess, Chesser was asked if she discussed the case with any witnesses and she said that she had just talked with Rogers’ mother, Sherry Ballard, in the restroom and that Chesser “prayed it would bring Ms. Ballard peace.”

“Anyone just hearing, including an appeals court, hearing that a witness was talked to sounds terrible,” WAVE legal analyst Leland Hulbert said. “But was it after her testimony, did it actually influence her testimony, was it just sympathetic words, or did it actually mean something? So, raising it is very common and almost predicted, but will it actually go anywhere to overturn a verdict, that’s another story.”

The motion also cited the presence of the “Team Crystal” movement and a number of people in the gallery wearing pink, a color that represents the movement. The defense argued that, regardless of if the jury knew about the significance of the color, or if it swayed them in one direction or the other, it was a violation of the court’s order to not wear any clothing expressing a message related to the case.

“You always have a victim’s family, you don’t always have supporters, but a lot of times you have supporters because someone has died,” Hulbert explained. “And so as long as they didn’t disrupt the court procedure or the trial, I wouldn’t think that was enough by itself to overturn the verdict.”

The motion also argues that the less than a year the defense had was not adequate time to prepare for the trial. That was a claim that they argued prior to the start of the trial, citing the 400,000 pages of written documents and the hundreds of hours of audio and video recording that was included in discovery.

Additionally, the defense argued that the jury returned the verdict too quickly, feeling rushed to wrap the case up the same week they received it. The motion states there is “no conceivable way this jury reviewed the evidence, considered the instructions, and thoughtfully deliberated this matter in the time it took them to reach a verdict.”

The defense also mentioned the exclusion of testing additional hairs found in Rogers’ car violated Lawson’s rights.
 
A jury can return a verdict in whatever amount of time they need. Some need little. Each may have made their decision based on evidence and more and they find they all agree. That on is b.s. to me.

Most of the other things also sound like b.s. for the most part.
 
SheWhoMustNotBeNamed said:
www.wave3.com

Steven Lawson requests new trial after guilty verdict

Lawson was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence on May 30.
www.wave3.com www.wave3.com

Steven Lawson requests new trial after guilty verdict​

Steven Lawson has filed for a new trial less than a week after a Warren County jury found him guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence in connection to the disappearance of Crystal Rogers in 2015.

In the motion, Lawson’s defense team cited eight reasons for requesting a new trial, saying that the court failed to provide jury instructions that accurately reflected Kentucky law in relation to the conspiracy to commit murder charge.

The testimony of witness Elizabeth Chesser was also brought up in the motion. Court took a recess during her trial after she said that Lawson told her his ex-wife left him because she knew “he committed murder.” The defense called this testimony “inflammatory.”

Upon return from the recess, Chesser was asked if she discussed the case with any witnesses and she said that she had just talked with Rogers’ mother, Sherry Ballard, in the restroom and that Chesser “prayed it would bring Ms. Ballard peace.”

“Anyone just hearing, including an appeals court, hearing that a witness was talked to sounds terrible,” WAVE legal analyst Leland Hulbert said. “But was it after her testimony, did it actually influence her testimony, was it just sympathetic words, or did it actually mean something? So, raising it is very common and almost predicted, but will it actually go anywhere to overturn a verdict, that’s another story.”

The motion also cited the presence of the “Team Crystal” movement and a number of people in the gallery wearing pink, a color that represents the movement. The defense argued that, regardless of if the jury knew about the significance of the color, or if it swayed them in one direction or the other, it was a violation of the court’s order to not wear any clothing expressing a message related to the case.

“You always have a victim’s family, you don’t always have supporters, but a lot of times you have supporters because someone has died,” Hulbert explained. “And so as long as they didn’t disrupt the court procedure or the trial, I wouldn’t think that was enough by itself to overturn the verdict.”

The motion also argues that the less than a year the defense had was not adequate time to prepare for the trial. That was a claim that they argued prior to the start of the trial, citing the 400,000 pages of written documents and the hundreds of hours of audio and video recording that was included in discovery.

Additionally, the defense argued that the jury returned the verdict too quickly, feeling rushed to wrap the case up the same week they received it. The motion states there is “no conceivable way this jury reviewed the evidence, considered the instructions, and thoughtfully deliberated this matter in the time it took them to reach a verdict.”

The defense also mentioned the exclusion of testing additional hairs found in Rogers’ car violated Lawson’s rights.
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