With no body or weapon, the circumstantial case against Brooks Houck begins Tuesday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Ten years after Crystal Rogers vanished on July 3, 2015, the main suspect in her murder, Brooks Houck, her boyfriend at the time, will finally stand trial starting Tuesday in Bowling Green.

But despite an investigation that has mainly focused on Houck the past decade, very little physical evidence has been made public, if it exists at all — including where her body is, a murder weapon or an eyewitness to the actual slaying.

It's rare in Kentucky for murder cases to make it to trial without any of this evidence, attorneys told WDRB News. Also, it's not clear how and when Rogers died and exactly what the motive was, though Houck has admitted they had a "stressful relationship."

However, a substantial amount of circumstantial evidence has come out, most recently throughout the May trial of one of Houck's co-defendants, Steve Lawson, who admitted he, at Houck's request, agreed to help his son move Rogers' vehicle the night she vanished.

And that trial — even with defense attorneys arguing nobody could prove beyond doubt that Rogers is dead — went well for prosecutors.

A Warren County jury in just more than two hours found Lawson, 54, guilty on all charges — conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence — and recommended 17 years in prison. He will be formally sentenced in August.

The defense has asked for a new trial, in part because of how quickly the jury came to a decision. Defense attorney Darren Wolff said they didn't have time to properly consider all of the evidence.

Among the circumstantial evidence released so far against Houck:

He told Steve Lawson, who worked for him, he wanted Rogers "gone," Lawson testified. Lawson said he responded, you mean gone like "deceased."
Houck received a telephone call from Lawson the night she disappeared, around midnight. Lawson testified he told him "the job is done," speaking about Rogers' car being moved at the request of Houck.
Houck was seen on surveillance videos driving to his farm on July 3, 2015. He has said he was there for hours with Rogers before he left around midnight. She was never seen again. Houck did not report her missing.

What prosecutors need to prove

Houck's case is different than Lawson's and may require a higher bar for prosecutors to get over as he is facing a much stiffer charge, complicity to commit murder, which carries a possible penalty of 25 years to life in prison. He is also facing tampering with evidence charge.

With Lawson, prosecutors just had to prove there was an agreement to help Houck but not that a murder necessarily occurred, according to legal experts.

Investigators searched the farm where Rogers was allegedly last seen with Houck and found no evidence. There was also nothing found in Houck's vehicle.

"You are dealing with a society that knows for fact DNA evidence exists," said Louisville attorney Greg Simms, noting the proliferation of crime shows has prompted an expectation for strong physical links to the killing. "It's generally harder to prove a physical act like murder occurred without physical evidence."

But Simms said the high-profile nature of the Rogers case and jurors knowledge of it, as well as the circumstantial evidence that points to Houck, will help the prosecution more than a typical murder case.

"They may want Crystal's family to get justice," he said in an interview.

One witness during Lawson's case testified she spoke with Sherry Ballard, Crystal's mother, during a break and told her she hoped her testimony would help bring some closure. Several of the same witnesses are expected this trial.

Days after Rogers was last seen alive, her car was found abandoned — still running — on the side of the Bluegrass Parkway. Her purse and other belongings were inside. Despite years of searching, she's never been found and is presumed dead.

The disappearance of a mother of five with deep ties to the community has hovered over Bardstown like storm clouds. The trials were moved out of Nelson County due to intense publicity surrounding the lengthy investigation.

Many people in the courtroom wore pink, a nod to a movement called "Team Crystal."

Ballard broke down in tears and hugged family members when Lawson was found guilty. She hasn't spoken publicly since the trial.

Joseph Lawson, Steve's son, will stand trial with Houck, facing the same charges as his father: conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence. He is facing up to 25 years in prison.

During his trial, Steve Lawson acknowledged 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.

Before they left, Steve Lawson reached into Rogers' car and moved the driver's seat forward — because Rogers was short — and removed a miniature Louisville Slugger bat his son carried around regularly.

It's not yet known whether Joseph Lawson will use the same defense strategy as his father. Investigators had hours of testimony from Steve Lawson talking to investigators and grand juries, hoping to get immunity. That immunity was scrapped by prosecutors when they determined he was repeatedly lying.

The totality of the evidence against Houck has been kept much quieter than what has come out against the Lawsons. He did answer questions from investigators a few days after Rogers disappeared.

Houck told police he and Rogers and their small child went to his farm around 7 p.m., July 3, 2015, walked around, fed the cows and left about midnight to go home.

"We didn't stop anywhere," Houck said at the time. "We went straight home."

He said he went to sleep, and Rogers stayed up. When he woke up the next morning, the child was next to him, and Rogers was gone, Houck told police.

Rogers was reported missing by her mother.

During Steve Lawson's trial, Ballard testified that, on her way to talk to the Nelson County Sheriff's Department the next day, she saw Houck at a gas station and asked him if she should inform police Rogers was missing. Houck was with his and Rogers' small child.

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

Houck has said he wasn't concerned as Ballard would sometimes leave and spend time with friends.

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. Houck told police there was nothing unusual going on in their relationship when Rogers disappeared.

As for why Steve Lawson called him around midnight the night Rogers vanished, Houck initially told police he didn't remember getting a call.

During the interrogation, Houck called the number and Lawson said on speaker phone he had called about a rental property. This was a ruse Houck and Lawson planned in advance, investigators say.

The call was actually to tell Houck "the job was done" in moving Rogers' vehicle, Steve Lawson has testified.

Rogers was never seen again. She is presumed dead.

"I'm innocent," Houck told police. "My whole family's name is trashed for something that's completely not even tied to me."

'Co-conspirators'

During the interview, Brooks' brother, Nick Houck, who was a police officer, called and told him not to talk to police anymore.

It's likely more information will come out in the upcoming trial about Nick Houck and his mother, who prosecutor Shane Young said are "unindicted co-conspirators."

"We believe them to be involved," Young said of Rosemary and Nick Houck during the Steve Lawson trial. Neither have been charged.

Nick Houck was fired from the Bardstown Police Department in October 2015 for interfering with the investigation. And 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.

A polygraph Nick Houck took was briefly mentioned during the Lawson trial but was shut down quickly by the judge. Polygraph results are not admissible in trials. (Nick Houck failed the test.)

Rosemary Houck was previously accused by Young of secretly recording grand jury testimony, but charges weren't filed because the statute of limitations passed.

One witness testified during the Lawson trial "they are all involved," speaking of the Houck family and the Lawsons.

The trial is expected to last about two weeks but may move quicker, given Steve Lawson's trial was completed in just four days. Jury selection, despite the case attracting nationwide attention, was finished in a matter of hours.

However, Brooks Houck and Joseph Lawson's attorneys are expected to question Bowling Green jurors more thoroughly this time, since the city likely now has more knowledge of the case after Steve Lawson was convicted.

Judge Charles Simms III has again put strict conditions on the media, allowing no cameras or live-reporting through cell phones or laptops. He has even sealed court video of Steve Lawson's trial to protect witnesses and lessen the chance the jury pool in Bowling Green will be tainted by news coverage.

During Steve Lawson's trial, Simms indicated he hoped the trial ended on the Friday of the week it began so jurors didn't have a long weekend in which they may talk to family and friends or see media coverage.

It is possible this trial will start on June 24 and wrap up on Thursday, July 3, 10 years to the day Rogers' vanished.

Crystal Rogers Coverage:

Timeline of the 10 years leading up to the 2nd Crystal Rogers murder trial

Legal analyst breaks down challenges of 2nd Crystal Rogers murder trial

Bardstown community hopes Brooks Houck's trial brings answers in Crystal Rogers case