LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The disappearance of Crystal Rogers has been a mystery for nearly a decade. What happened to the Bardstown mother of five? As the second trial in her murder case is set to get underway next week, let's look at what's happened the past 10 years.

Rogers was last seen alive on July 3, 2015. For two days. Family and friends were unable to reach her.

"I was calling and texting, and she wasn't answering," Kyleigh Fenwick, one of Rogers' daughters, said in a 2020 interview .

Then, on July 5, Rogers' mom, Sherry Ballard, filed a missing person's report. Shortly after, Rogers' car was found abandoned on the Bluegrass Parkway. The maroon Chevy Impala had a flat tire with her keys, purse and cellphone still inside. A day later, the Nelson County Sheriff's Office held a news conference on Rogers' disappearance. Officials said Brooks Houck, her boyfriend, was the last person to see her alive at his family farm. At the time, the sheriff said Houck was fully cooperating with the investigation.

Family, friends and strangers spent countless hours looking for the missing Bardstown mom. One person was noticeably absent from the searches: Houck.

"If he truly loved my daughter, he would do anything to find her," Ballard said in 2015. "Because we're doing anything. Anything."

During the initial days of the investigation, Houck was questioned by lead detective Jon Snow with the Nelson County Sheriff's Office. In the interview, Houck said Rogers, their 2-year-old son, Eli, and himself left the family farm around midnight. He said he went straight to bed, and Rogers stayed up. When he woke up on July 4, she wasn't there, he said.

"I wasn't even alarmed," Houck said during his police interview in 2015.

Snow told Houck he had gaps in his story, but Houck was adamant he had nothing to do with the disappearance.

"And now, my whole family's name is trashed for something that's not even tied to me," Houck said.

Houck discussed two phone calls during the interview with Snow. The first was with Steve Lawson, who worked for him at the time. The detective wanted to know why they had a short, late night phone call. It was later revealed in court the call on the night Rogers disappeared was to tell Houck "The job of moving Crystal's car was done."

The second call was with his brother, Nick Houck, who told him not to talk to police. Nick Houck was a Bardstown Police officer at the time and was also questioned in Rogers' disappearance. An investigator told him he didn't pass a lie detector test.

"I don't give a  f*** what your f****** computer said, OK? I'm telling you I've been 100% honest with you," Nick Houck told investigator in 2015.

Three months after Rogers went missing, she was presumed dead in October 2015.

"She has vanished from earth," former Nelson County Sheriff Ed Mattingly said in 2015. "I think it's safe to say that she's dead."

At that time, Nick Houck was also fired from the Bardstown Police Department for interfering with the investigation. And the Nelson County Sheriff's Office named Brooks Houck as the main suspect, though he wasn't arrested.

"I have eight pages of circumstances that lead me to look in their direction," Mattingly said.

A year and a half after she went missing, Rogers' dad, Tommy Ballard, was shot and killed early in the morning Nov. 19, 2016. The case is still unsolved.

Over the years, dozens of search warrants have been executed at the Houck family farm and properties. In August 2021, The FBI tore up the driveway of a home built by Brooks Houck. It was the Bardstown neighborhood where court records revealed Steve Lawson and his son, Joseph Lawson, picked up Rogers' car.

In September 2023, Joseph Lawson became the first arrested in Rogers' murder. Later that month, Brooks Houck was also arrested and held on a $10 million bond.

During a court hearing for Houck in 2023, prosecutors said the investigation into Brooks Houck revealed his family was connected to the murder of Tommy Ballard. Prosecutor Shane Young said investigators were testing the gun they believe was used.

"A firearm that we purchased from Nicholas Houck, who was using a fake name," Young said.

In December 2023, Steve Lawson was arrested. Investigators said Joseph Lawson was driving Rogers' car, and Steve Lawson picked up his son on the Bluegrass Parkway. The FBI searched a farm on Thompson Hill Road in 2023, and court documents revealed Steve Lawson told investigators he saw his son and another man digging and burning there shortly after Rogers disappeared.

About a year and a half after the arrests came the first trial. Steve Lawson was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with evidence.

"I do believe that I am going to get that justice," Ballard said in 2020.

Now, Rogers' family waits for the next trial for Joseph Lawson and Brooks Houck.

"In my heart, I know he's 100% guilty," Ballard said. "And I just think to myself — your day is coming."

The Joseph Lawson and Brooks Houck trial starts June 24. Just like Steve Lawson's trial, it was moved to Bowling Green due to all the publicity surrounding the case in Nelson County.

Crystal Rogers Coverage:

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Brooks Houck's brother and mother are suspects in Crystal Rogers' disappearance, prosecutor says

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