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

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WDRB) -- 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."

Prosecutor Shane Young said evidence will show that Houck was acting "unusual" during the week Rogers vanished, driving around frequently with Steve Lawson, who was a relatively new employee at the time.

Another employee, Young said, asked Lawson what the two were doing and he replied that Houck was talking about "taking care" of a woman with five children. Rogers had five kids, including a baby with Houck.

Also, Young said the prosecution would show proof that Lawson said he was asked by Houck to "get rid" of Rogers. While he declined, Lawson said he would help stage the scene, Young said.

In addition, the prosecution has proof that Steve Lawson called Houck after midnight July 4, 2015, around the time Rogers is believed to have disappeared.

The trial, which is being held in Bowling Green instead of Nelson County because of massive publicity over the last decade, moved quickly Tuesday and could be finished by Friday or Monday.

Not only were jury selection and opening statements completed Tuesday, the lead detective and Sherry Ballard, Crystal's mother, both testified.

Ballard cried as she took the stand, before Young even began his questioning. Ballard was the one who reported Rogers missing after being unable to get in touch with her by phone.

On her way to talk to police, Ballard testified she saw Houck at a gas station and asked him if she should inform police Rogers was missing. Houck was with his and Rogers' baby.

"He looked at me like I was talking about a person off the street," Ballard testified. He said she should but did not go with her to the sheriff's office.

Also during her testimony, Ballard described Houck and Rogers' relationship as strained in 2015. She said Houck had other girlfriends and Rogers wasn't happy about it.

Detective Jon Snow, formerly with the Nelson County Sheriff's Office and the lead investigator in the Rogers case, testified that Houck said he and Rogers went to Houck's farm on July 3 at about 7 p.m. and walked around for several hours.

Surveillance video from businesses show Houck's vehicle driving to the farm at about 7 p.m. and leaving about midnight, Snow testified. Police later searched the farm and Houck's truck but did not find any evidence.

Shortly after midnight, July 4, 2015, Houck received a phone call from Lawson, Snow said.

Houck initially told police he didn't recognize the number. When Houck called it while being interrogated by Snow and asked why Lawson called him that night, Lawson said it was about a rental property. Police later asked Lawson if Houck coached him on what to say during that call.

Later, however, Lawson said he couldn't remember the call because he was likely drunk and was inconsistent in his answers.

During multiple discussions with investigators and testimony in front of several grand juries over the last decade, Lawson's story changed so many times that prosecutors took an offer of immunity off the table.

Some of Lawson's testimony to grand jurors was played in court Tuesday, but was mostly inaudible to people in the courtroom. The jurors and attorneys wore headphones to listen to the testimony.

Police and the prosecution told jurors that Rogers left the farm with Houck that night, but never arrived back home and was never heard from again.

"Crystal took a fatal ride to the farm," Young said.

Witness testimony will continue Wednesday morning.

Earlier on Tuesday, Nelson Circuit Court Judge Charles Simms III — who is presiding over Lawson's trial — denied a defense request to continue the case, arguing they hadn't had enough time to prepare.

Wolff asked for the continuance, saying there were around 41,000 pages of written material and hundreds of hours of interviews.

"We have not been able to review everything," Wolff told the judge. "We do not feel adequately prepared to represent our client."

But the motion was denied.

Simms also stood by his earlier decision to not allow cameras or recording devices of any kind in the courtroom.

"Nothing compares to the circus-like atmosphere during this case," Simms said. "It got so bad that I did a reserved seating."

Simms later said, "I'm exhausted and the trial hasn't even started." He said the jury doesn't need another distraction.

Jurors were polled based on their knowledge about the case and asked about their understanding of details. They were also asked if they had formed an opinion.

"The case has captivated the country for the last 10 years," Wolff said.

Crystal Rogers' family is in court for the proceedings. There are about 20 friends and family members in attendance.

Steve Lawson is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence. His indictment alleges he "agreed to aid one or more persons in the planning or commission" of Rogers' murder and later "destroyed, mutilated, concealed, removed" or altered evidence on July 3 or 4, 2015.

Joseph Lawson pleaded not guilty in September 2023 to conspiracy to commit murder and tampering. He is not charged with the murder itself but is believed to have been involved in the planning or aftermath. His case was moved out of Nelson County due to intense publicity surrounding the investigation.

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.

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