BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WDRB) -- The most explosive testimony on day five of the Crystal Rogers murder trial centered around a white Buick owned by Brooks Houck's grandmother that was allegedly seen at the Houck farm the night she disappeared and later found with a hair in the trunk "similar" to Rogers' hair. 

Ryan Cecil and Daniel Donohue testified Monday in court they were in a coon hunting competition the night of July 3, 2015, near the Houck farm and saw a white Buick parked on the road. Cecil said he and two other men were out on Pachal Ballard Road on what was a rainy night.

Also, Owen McKinney, who was the manager of a Dollar General store in Hardin County in 2015, testified earlier Monday that he left work around 10:15 p.m. July 3 and saw a maroon Chevrolet Impala — Rogers' car — and a white car on the Bluegrass Parkway on his way home. When he returned to work around 7 a.m. July 4, Rogers' car was still there.

Jamie Brooks, a detective with the Internal Revenue Service, testified a white Buick similar to the one seen by Cecil, Donohue and McKinney was owned by Brooks Houck's grandmother, Anna Whitesides.

Cecil and Donohue reported seeing the car to police July 10, 2015, but the information laid dormant until April 28, 2016, when Tommy Ballard, Rogers' father, posted on Facebook asking about a white Buick.

On May 1, detectives got a call from Ballard and then obtained a search warrant for Whitesides's home.

When they arrived, "the white Buick had been sold," Det. Brooks said, adding that another car in the garage had a temporary tag.

He said the Buick was sold at a Louisville dealership May 2, 2016, and pictures show Whitesides and Brooks Houck's brother, Nick, at a Louisville dealership that day, according to surveillance pictures. 

The vehicle was located on the car lot and taken to the Louisville Metro Police forensic lab, Det. Brooks testified. A hair located in the trunk was submitted to the lab and found to be "similar in color and characteristics" of hair taken from Rogers' hairbrush. 

In cross-examination of Det. Brooks Monday afternoon, defense attorney Steve Schroering, who represents Brooks Houck, pointed out that several hairs and other evidence were found in the trunk of the white Buick.

In addition, the hair Det. Brooks said was "similar" to Rogers' was sent to an FBI lab, and agents there couldn't find a DNA profile, lab reports showed.

Det. Brooks also told the defense a search of the car showed no fingerprints besides Whitesides' eight months after Rogers' disappeared. The prosecution then noted Nick Houck's DNA wasn't found in the car, despite the fact he drove with Whitesidess to the dealership to sell it.

Investigators also brought in a cadaver dog, but the dog's findings have yet to be released in court.

The cadaver dog was found by Det. Brooks at a National Rifle Association show at the fairgrounds in Louisville on May 20, 2016, when he saw someone who worked with the dogs part-time in Texas.

The next day, he took the man to the car at the Louisville Metro Police impound lot to do a search with the dog. The search wasn't recorded by police, and no results have been reported so far during trial.

Donohue and Cecil testified they didn't hear any gunshots, screams or anything else out of the ordinary that night. The car, they said, was not muddy. 

Also Keith Stivers, a sales manager at Sternburg Automotive, said Nick Houck attempted to sell the white Buick there. Stivers said Houck told him he wanted to find a car for his grandmother but found it strange Houck didn't want to give the dealership access to the car before the trade-in so an appraisal could be done.

Brooks Houck is charged with 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.

The trial is expected to last about two weeks. It was moved from Nelson County to Bowling Green because of the massive amount of publicity the case has drawn. 

Earlier on Monday, a former girlfriend of Nick Houck testified that he left his home early the morning of July 3, 2015, and she didn't see him again for about 24 hours.

Amber Bowman testified she and Nick Houck were supposed to move into a new home that morning, but instead he told her he was going to help Brooks Houck on a rental property. The two argued about this decision, Bowman said, and that she ended up spending most of that day moving with her father's help.

Bowman testified she called Nick Houck 15 times between 11:43 a.m. July 3 and 10:40 a.m. July 4, and each call went to voicemail. She said he still wasn't there when she woke up the next morning.

"He had never not come home at all before," Bowman said on the stand.

Bowman said when she finally saw Nick Houck on July 4, he told her he was "working at the house," though it's unclear if he meant their new house or somewhere else.

Nick Houck, who was a Bardstown Police Department officer at the time of Rogers' disappearance, has been referenced several times already during the trial and was called an "unindicted co-conspirator" by the prosecution. He called Brooks Houck during the July 8 interview with lead Det. Jon Snow and warned him about continuing to talk to police.

Nick Houck was fired from the Bardstown Police Department in October 2015 for interfering with the investigation. And prosecutor Shane Young told a judge in October 2023 that Nick Houck used a fake name to sell a gun to investigators that may have been used to kill Tommy Ballard, Rogers' father.

On cross-examination, defense attorney Brian Butler, who represents Brooks Houck, pointed out that Bowman had said it was normal for him to be gone frequently at night, working on his own rental properties or as a police officer and that he often came home late. Bowman acknowledged that was true.

Bowman testified she went to their new home three times July 3 and never saw Nick Houck there. She did, however, find his phone there, which appeared to be off, she said.

Butler noted Bowman said in her 2016 testimony in front of a Nelson County grand jury there were tools all over the new house that day, though she said it was unclear what, if any, work had been done. Butler also said Bowman told the grand jury she assumed Nick Houck was mad at her because they'd been fighting, and he was avoiding her calls.

On July 4, once Nick Houck returned home, he and Bowman began moving into the new house and went to a fireworks show that night. She said he was wearing a T-shirt and shorts, and there was nothing unusual about his appearance or clothing that day. But she again pointed out he had never before turned his phone off for 24 hours.

Also on Monday, Charlie Girdley, who worked for Brooks Houck, testified that Steve Lawson told him at one time that Houck was looking to "get rid of his old lady." Girdley said he looked up, laughed at Lawson and walked off.

Steve Lawson was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence on May 30 for his role in Rogers' slaying. He faces a recommended sentence of 17 years when he is sentenced Aug. 6.

Sketches of Brooks Houck and Joseph Lawson's Trial

Defense attorneys for Houck have argued that neither of the Lawsons had anything to do with Rogers' murder.

During his trial, however, Steve Lawson admitted he was guilty of tampering with physical evidence for helping his son move Rogers' vehicle after she disappeared. Joseph Lawson drove Rogers' car, and his father picked him up when the vehicle had a flat tire, leaving it on the side of Bluegrass Parkway, he testified.

Girdley said in court he went drinking with Joseph Lawson on July 3, 2015, the night Crystal Rogers disappeared. They left, he said, and met up with Steve Lawson to get his paycheck. Lawson gave his son his keys so Joseph Lawson could work on Rogers' car, putting new brakes and rotors on it.

Later that night, Girdley said Joseph Lawson called him and said he broke down on the Bluegrass Parkway and wanted Girdley to bring him a trailer and come pick him up. Girdley testified he didn't go because he'd been drinking. He did not know what vehicle Lawson was driving.

At some point, Girdley said Joseph Lawson said he'd bury Rogers' car with a skid steer, so it'd never be found. So far, there's been no context presented to the jury about this comment. The timeline of the comment is unclear.

On cross-examination, Girdley admitted to changing his stories multiple times, lying to investigators and being repeatedly threatened by KSP troopers.

He ended up getting a 90-day sentence for violating his probation, with work release for half of that time, instead of going back to prison. He told a Nelson County grand jury he was never promised anything by investigators but hinted at a different story in the transcript of an interview with KSP after serving his sentence.

"I probably wouldn't have gotten the 90-day sentence without you all," he told KSP troopers. 

Girdley said he'd been out drinking and doing drugs before that initial four-hour KSP interview and hadn't slept for five or six days. 

Under questioning from defense attorney Steve Schroering, who represents Houck, Girdley admitted he was on felony probation and on the run when he was picked up by U.S. Marshals on June 21, 2023.

He said he was taken to see KSP troopers, who questioned him for more than four hours. During that time, according to a transcript of an interview provided in court Monday, troopers promised to take care of him, promised to get him out of charges and, eventually, threatened him repeatedly and asked him leading questions trying to get different answers.

Girdley told a Nelson County grand jury he was never promised anything by investigators. He ended up getting a 90-day sentence for violating his probation, with work release, instead of going back to prison.

When Girdley's timelines were incorrect about what police believed happened the day Rogers disappeared, the troopers pushed him further and took several smoke breaks with him, which weren't recorded.

"We're trying to lead you into it, trying to save you," a trooper told Girdley during the interrogation.

"I'm trying to cooperate with you all. I really am," Girdley told the troopers.

At one point, according to the transcript, Girdley told troopers Houck said something to him about picking up a car. Girdley acknowledged on cross-examination Monday that wasn't true.

"Brooks has never asked me to do anything like that," he said.

Eventually, according to the transcript, one trooper screamed at Girdley, who screamed back "You all are trying to make them think I had something to do with this."

"You can spend the rest of your life in the pen or you can walk out of here," one trooper told him, according to the transcript.

In another instance, as troopers continued to probe, Girdley asked if they could "give him a hint."

The back and forth went on for hours. Girdley testified a short time later in front of a Nelson County grand jury that Joseph Lawson called him and said he broke down on the Bluegrass Parkway and wanted Girdley to bring him a trailer and come pick him up. Girdley said he didn't go because he'd been drinking.

Previously, Girdley met with the FBI, who he said were professional, and told them he knew nothing about the case.

Defense attorneys have repeated throughout the trial that investigators — especially KSP troopers — lied, threatened and coerced witnesses to get the testimony they needed.

He told prosecutor Shane Young on Monday he's clean now and, despite what the transcript shows were possibly coercive interview tactics by KSP, telling the truth on the stand.

"I told the truth," he said on the stand. "What I've testified today is the truth."

Previous Coverage:

Defense for Brooks Houck shows text message he sent to Crystal Rogers after she disappeared

Prosecution in Crystal Rogers murder trial tells jury Brooks Houck's brother, mother were involved

Prosecution: Crystal Rogers murder trial is circumstantial case, a 'no body homicide'

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