LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The three suspects charged in connection with the murder of Crystal Rogers are expected to be in court Thursday.

Brooks Houck, Joseph Lawson and Steve Lawson are all scheduled in Nelson Circuit Court at 1 p.m. Thursday. They will each have their own hearings. They're charged with criminal conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence.

STEVE LAWSON

Steve Lawson's attorney, Ted Lavit, said he's looked through the evidence provided by the state and said it's repetitive and without new information. He says Steve Lawson's only involvement is picking up his son, Joseph Lawson, who was driving Rogers' car when it got a flat tire on the Bluegrass Parkway.

Lavit said Steve Lawson removed a miniature Louisville Slugger bat from the vehicle.

STEVE LAWSON BOND HEARING - NELSON COUNTY - 1-4-2024 (1).jpeg

Steve Lawson is shown in a jail-issued jumpsuit in a Nelson County courtroom for a bond reduction hearing in the Crystal Rogers case. He was indicted along with his son, Joseph Lawson, and Brooks Houck in the case. (WDRB Image) Jan 4, 2024

"My client was never asked to move that car and never volunteered to move it," Lavit said. "My client had nothing to do with removing the car from the Bluegrass. The only thing he took out of that car was a Louisville Slugger toy bat that seemed like a childhood toy that Joey kept with him and that was in the backseat. He moved that seat in order to get that bat."

Lavit said Lawson gave the bat to his son as they left.

Steve Lawson then dropped off his son at a Five Star gas station, Lavit said.

Thursday hearing for Steve Lawson is scheduled to "fast track" the case. Lavit said he believes the judge will set another hearing and trial date. The attorney said he doesn't expect to make any motions.

"He knows nothing about her death," Lavit said of his client. "He has made this statement over and over and over to the police, in my presence and outside my presence, that he would never harm Crystal. He didn't harm Crystal and he knows nothing of her murder or her disappearance."

In September, Joseph Lawson was charged with criminal conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence in connection with Rogers' death.

JOSEPH LAWSON

Joseph Lawson was the first man arrested last year and charged in connection with Rogers' death.

He asked a judge to reduce his $500,000 bond to $50,000 unsecured, meaning he wouldn't have to pay a bail unless he failed to show for court. His Thursday hearing is expected to address the unsecured bond request.

Lawson is currently being housed in the Kentucky State Reformatory in Oldham County, and his attorney has said it has been difficult to contact him. It is unclear if Joseph Lawson will attend the hearing Thursday.

Joseph Lawson booking photo

Pictured: the booking photo for Joseph L. Lawson. 

If released on this bond, he'd be placed on home incarceration with GPS monitoring, according to the request by his attorneys.

Joseph Lawson pleaded not guilty in September to criminal conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence in the Rogers case.

In his request for a decreased bail, he argued in a court filing that the $500,000 bail is "excessive, oppressive, and amounts to a denial of bail considering his socio-economic status, his presumption of innocence, and his anticipated conduct if released."

His attorneys argue he is a paraplegic confined to a wheelchair and not a danger to the community or a flight risk.

"Simply put, his paraplegia prevents him from even having the ability to harm another," attorneys Kevin Coleman and Robert Boyd wrote in the motion. "That said, he has no intention of avoiding the jurisdiction of this Court and looks forward to mounting his defense against these allegations."

Joseph Lawson was injured in a motorcycle accident. Prosecutors have said he was naked and living in his vehicle when he was arrested.

His attorneys said his current bond is too high and he should be given "a meaningful reduction ... that considers his socio-economic position," according to the motion.

BROOKS HOUCK

Houck is the primary suspect in Rogers' disappearance. He is also scheduled for a pre-trial conference hearing Thursday.

He was the last person seen with Rogers, his former girlfriend and the mother of his 10-year-old son. He has pleaded not guilty and remains in jail on a $10 million bond. Her body has never been found.

Rogers was last seen 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.

Brooks Houck

Brooks Houck's mugshot after being arrested Sept. 27 in the murder of Crystal Rogers. (Photo courtesy of the Hardin County Detention Center)

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