LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Kentucky Supreme Court denied a request to review whether Brooks Houck's bond should remain at $10 million cash while he awaits trial for the murder of his former girlfriend, Crystal Rogers.
In November, the state Court of Appeals ruled Houck's $10 million cash bond was appropriate while agreeing with a lower court's opinion that Houck is a flight risk and could be a danger to potential witnesses.
Houck's attorneys asked the state Supreme Court to review, but the request was denied March 6 without explanation, according to court records.
The order declining review was signed by Kentucky Chief Justice Laurance VanMeter.
It means that unless Houck can come up with $10 million in cash for bond, he will remain incarcerated until his Feb. 10, 2025, trial.
Attorney Brian Butler, one of Houck's attorneys, declined to comment on the issue.
The appeals court ruling cited accusations that Houck's family members recorded grand jury proceedings and prosecutors' allegations that Houck's brother, Nick Houck, was involved in the death of Rogers' father, Tommy Ballard. The court also found Houck has the financial means to pay the bond.
Butler had argued that the $10 million cash bond is "excessive, punitive, and serves no purpose other than to punish Mr. Houck by keeping him incarcerated while this is pending."
He noted that Houck has cooperated with investigators since his former girlfriend disappeared, agreed to interviews with police and submitted to a polygraph examination. The polygraph was deemed inconclusive but "did not show deception" when Houck denied wrongdoing relating to Rogers' disappearance.
Just days after that motion was filed, Nelson County Circuit Court Judge Charles Simms III ruled that Houck's bond would remain at $10 million cash.
In his order denying the bond reduction, Simms expressed concern for the safety of other people involved in the case if Houck was able to post a reduced bond and released on home incarceration.
"There is reason to believe that the Commonwealth may have one or more cooperating witnesses, and this Court is gravely concerned for the safety of any such witness(es) and any other individuals connected to this case," Simms wrote.
Attorneys for Houck, one of the three men charged in connection with the murder of Rogers, asked last week that the 2025 trial be moved out of Bardstown because the massive amount of publicity has tainted potential jurors.
Houck, Joseph Lawson and Steve Lawson are all scheduled to stand trial on Feb. 10, 2025, in Nelson Circuit Court on charges of criminal conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence in the 2015 disappearance of Rogers. It is not clear if they will stand trial together.
Houck was identified as the primary suspect in the Rogers case days after she went missing July 2015. He now faces charges of murder and tampering with physical evidence after being indicted by a Nelson County grand jury Sept. 20.
Brooks Houck Coverage:
- Brooks Houck's attorneys ask judge to move Crystal Rogers murder trial out of Bardstown, central KY
- Brooks Houck's bond will stay at $10 million, Kentucky Court of Appeals rules
- 'There was solicitation' | Attorney drops bombshell allegations in Crystal Rogers case
- Kentucky Supreme Court denies Brooks Houck's appeal to remove judge from murder trial
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