BARDSTOWN, Ky. (WDRB) – A Nelson County judge confirmed on Friday that the trial or trials of Brooks Houck and his two-codefendants for the murder of Crystal Rogers will be held in either Warren or Christian counties likely next year.

It is still unknown if the men will be tried together or separate.

In March, the prosecutor, Shane Young, agreed with a motion filed by attorneys for Houck, Joseph Lawson and Steve Lawson that there has been too much publicity, since Rogers disappeared in 2015 to find an unbiased jury in Nelson County.

They have been looking outside the Louisville and Lexington media markets at counties "demographically" similar to Nelson.

“It will be one of those two locations,” Judge Chares Simms III said on Friday. “I have spoken to the chief circuit judges in both those counties, and they are certain things are good about each facility.”

He said he will release an order quickly on with county he decides on. 

Also, an attorney for Steve Lawson, Darren Wolff, said he will opt to have several statements made by his client to investigators excluded at trial.

Still, the judge already ruled that some of Lawson's statement to investigators as well as his testimony in front of the grand jury will be allowed to be used during his trial.

The men are scheduled to be tried on Feb. 10, 2025, but Steve Lawson just acquired new attorneys who have hinted that they will likely file a motion to delay the trial, given the amount of evidence in the case.

The next hearing scheduled has been set for Oct. 25. 

The judge also ruled on Friday that Steve Lawson's former attorney, Ted Lavit, must turn over the entire case file to Wolff within the next two weeks. If not, he could be held in contempt of court.  

Rogers was last seen with her boyfriend, Houck, during the Fourth of July weekend in 2015.

Her car was left running on the side of Bluegrass Parkway with her purse still inside.

She's presumed dead, but her body was never found.

Joseph Lawson, 32, pleaded not guilty in September to criminal conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence in the Rogers case. He is not charged with Rogers' murder, but prosecutors instead charged him with conspiracy, meaning they believe he was involved in some fashion with whomever killed Rogers.

The maximum sentence for the conspiracy charge is 10-20 years in prison.

In addition, the indictment charges Joseph Lawson with complicity to tampering with physical evidence when he "destroyed, mutilated, concealed, removed or altered physical evidence." The maximum penalty for that charge is one to five years in prison.

Steve Lawson, according to a Dec. 6 Nelson County indictment, agreed to "aid one or more persons in the planning or commission" of the death of another and then "destroyed, mutilated, concealed, removed" or altered physical evidence on July 3 or July 4, 2015, when Rogers disappeared.

Houck's indictment accused him of "acting alone or in complicity with another" committing the offense of murder of Rogers. He's also charged with tampering when he "destroyed, mutilated, concealed, removed or altered" physical evidence, according to the indictment.

This story may be updated. 

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