LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A long-time Louisville attorney said Brook Houck's $10 million bond is one of the highest he's ever seen.

Thomas Clay began working as a public defender 49 years ago and has been practicing criminal defense law ever since. He said this case, involving the disappearance of Crystal Rogers, is very complicated.

"It's one that's generated a great deal of public interest and it's also involved several different law enforcement agencies in investigating and trying to find out what actually happened here," Clay said Thursday.

Houck, Rogers' former boyfriend, was arrested "without incident," the FBI wrote in a news release earlier this week. He was indicted by a grand jury Sept. 20, and the indictment was unsealed Wednesday morning with certain portions redacted.

Just before 11 a.m. Wednesday, Houck was escorted into the Nelson County jail in handcuffs. He was then taken to the Hardin County Detention Center, where he's currently being held. His bond was set at $10 million and his arraignment was set for 1 p.m. Oct. 5.

"What's interesting about this is the Federal Bureau of Investigation — the FBI — was involved in the investigation, but the charges have been brought in state court," Clay said. "And they've been brought by a special prosecutor named Shane Young, who's the Commonwealth's Attorney for Hardin County, Kentucky. I've known Shane for a long time. He's one of the most outstanding prosecutors I've ever known and if he's charged this guy and asked the court to set this kind of bond, I'm sure he has compelling reasons for making that request."

Rogers was last seen on July 3, 2015. The next day, her car was found on the side of the Bluegrass Parkway with her purse, phone, and keys still inside. But there was no sign of the mother of five. Houck was quickly named the main person of interest because he was the last known person to see her alive when they were at his family farm the night of July 3.

Over the years, the Houck family farm, the homes of Brooks Houck and his brother, Nick, have been searched multiple times, along with a storage unit belonging to Rogers. And, most recently, in 2022, the FBI was back at the Houck farm for a five-day search. In 2021, the driveway of a home built by Houck in the Woodlawn Springs neighborhood was ripped up by the FBI, using SONAR equipment, backhoes and K-9s to search the property.

It's unknown what evidence, if any, has been uncovered, but Clay said with how state court works, it's likely some information will be made public.

"There's going to be stuff made part of the public record," he said. "The prosecution has an obligation to disclose some portions of the evidence."

Like many community members in Bardstown, Clay said there are several questions people still don't have answers to several years later.

"Hopefully, as this case progresses, some of those questions will be answered and some of the issues can be put to rest about what was going on down there in Nelson County," he said.

Clay also brought up other unsolved cases in Nelson County, including the deaths of Bardstown police officer Jason Ellis, elementary school teacher Kathy Netherland and her daughter, and Rogers' father Tommy Ballard.

"Of course, the question becomes then, 'Are these murders inter-related, and, if so, what caused them to be related?" Clay said.

Clay also noted the public interest this case has had over the past eight years. WDRB News asked if he believed that could impact the location for a trial.

"As a general rule, courts like to try the case where the crime originated," he said. "But this is one of those unusual cases, and I've had a couple of them in my career where the publicity was so pervasive that members of the community knew about it and formed opinions about what the outcome should be to the extent to the court felt compelled to move the case out of that county."

Houck is expected back in Nelson County on Oct. 5 for arraignment.

Houck's attorney, Brian Butler declined a request for comment.

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