LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – A judge scheduled a June 24, 2025, trial date in Warren County for Brooks Houck and one of his co-defendants in the murder case of Crystal Rogers.
Nelson County Judge Charles Simms III also ruled Tuesday that co-defendant Steve Lawson, who will be tried separately from his son Joseph Lawson and Houck, will stand trial on Feb. 11, also in Bowling Green.
Their trials were moved out of Nelson County because of the massive amount of publicity surrounding the case.
Both sides were supposed to hold a hearing on Dec. 5 to decide when Brooks Houck and Joseph Lawson would stand trial. That hearing has been cancelled after the agreement to try the men in June of next year, according to Tuesday’s order.
Prosecutors had asked that all three men be tried together, but Simms recently ruled that Steven Lawson gave hours of "ever evolving," or contradictory, testimony regarding what happened to Rogers.
Attorneys for Houck had argued it would be "unfair" and close to impossible to put Houck and Steve Lawson on trial together given Lawson has provided about 20 hours of contradictory testimony and information about the case. Unless he testified at a joint trial, Houck would be unable to confront Lawson about the lies, they argued.
Simms, who has deemed Lawson's testimony as "wildly inconsistent," agreed, ruling that it would be unfair if a jury only heard some of Lawson’s testimony in a joint trial.
Joseph Lawson had also requested a separate trial, but Simms ruled that none of his statements implicate Houck as being involved with Rogers' disappearance.
In addition, Joseph Lawson argued that the negative media coverage surrounding Houck would be prejudicial to him.
Simms ruled that while he "recognizes that there is tremendous animosity toward Houck in Nelson County, this Court certainly believes that Houck and J. Lawson will obtain a fair and impartial trial in Warren County."
Steve Lawson was initially promised immunity if he provided truthful information about Rogers disappearance. But during hours of interviews with investigators and in front of a grand jury, he changed his story repeatedly.
Prosecutor Shane Young had asked the judge to join the cases into one trial since they are alleged to have "acted in concert to accomplish the murder of Crystal Rogers and to dispose of evidence which would conceal the murder."
Young argued Lawson lied repeatedly to minimize his own part in the case, and Simms previously found that recordings of Lawson's interviews with investigators "clearly establish that Lawson provided wildly inconsistent information."
Rogers was last seen with her boyfriend, Houck, 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.
Joseph Lawson pleaded not guilty in September to criminal conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence in the Rogers case. He is not charged with Rogers' murder, but prosecutors instead charged him with conspiracy, meaning they believe he was involved in some fashion with whomever killed Rogers.
The maximum sentence for the conspiracy charge is 10-20 years in prison.
In addition, the indictment charges Joseph Lawson with complicity to tampering with physical evidence when he "destroyed, mutilated, concealed, removed or altered physical evidence." The maximum penalty for that charge is one to five years in prison.
Steve Lawson, according to a Dec. 6 Nelson County indictment, agreed to "aid one or more persons in the planning or commission" of the death of another and then "destroyed, mutilated, concealed, removed" or altered physical evidence on July 3 or July 4, 2015, when Rogers disappeared.
Houck's indictment accused him of "acting alone or in complicity with another" committing the offense of murder of Rogers. He's also charged with tampering when he "destroyed, mutilated, concealed, removed or altered" physical evidence, according to the indictment.
This story may be updated.
Crystal Rogers Coverage:
- Murder trial for Crystal Rogers will be held in Warren County, judge rules
- FBI wraps up 3-day search for Crystal Rogers at properties once owned by Brooks Houck's family
- Brooks Houck wants his trial separated from other suspects in Crystal Rogers case
- On 9th anniversary of Crystal Rogers' disappearance, 3 men sit in jail charged with her murder
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