Neighbors near site of FBI dig hope Brooks Houck's arrest leads to closure for Crystal Rogers' family

BARDSTOWN, Ky. (WDRB) -- Brooks Houck now sits in jail waiting to face a judge for the murder of Crystal Rogers.

Just two years ago, the FBI was in Bardstown in the Woodlawn Springs subdivision digging up a driveway. Most homeowners in the neighborhood, if they weren't already, became deeply invested in the Crystal Roger's case.

"I hope they get everyone involved," Donna Lucchese, who lives in the neighborhood, said.

It's a case that has captivated the area.

"I just can't even imagine," Lucchese said.

Crystal Rogers, a mother of five, disappeared in July 2015.

And now, eight years later, the FBI arrested and charged Houck with murder and tampering with physical evidence.

"Finally, there may be justice for the family," Lucchese said. "I think that was the biggest thing was relief. Maybe some relief for the family, that they can seek the justice that they've had to wait so long to get."

He was booked into Nelson County jail but shortly after he was moved to the Hardin County Jail where he is being held on a $10 million cash bond.

"You feel for the entire family, what the kids have lost in all of this, how that changed their lives obviously and again, you hope for them, that there is some sense of justice," Lucchese said.

Lucchese lives in Woodlawn Springs, where in 2021, the FBI ripped up the driveway of a home that Houck built.

"It was actually encouraging to see that there was movement on the case," Lucchese said.

That was just one of the FBI's trips to Nelson County to look for evidence.

"I sort of understand that they had evidence, but having evidence and being able to get convictions are two different things, so that can take time to build that case and to build it properly," Lucchese said.

Lucchese said she doesn't know Rogers’ mother Sherry Ballard but she thinks of her often.

"Her mother, who also lost her husband a short time after that, both taken away from her through murder, and then not to have that justice for both of them, I just feel for her," Lucchese said. "I just admire the strength and perseverance that she has shown over the years."

With all of the new activity in the FBI's investigation, some other neighbors told WDRB they hope it brings some closure to the Roger's family and also the community itself.

"I don't know if you can ever find closure in something like this at all, cause those people will always be gone and that's a huge hole in anyone's heart and in their life," Lucchese said.

Houck's arraignment hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Oct. 5.

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