LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Four of Crystal Rogers' children and her mother, Sherry Ballard, are suing the man charged with her murder.
The civil lawsuit was filed Monday, Dec. 18, in Nelson Circuit Court against Brooks Houck.
Houck, who was Rogers' boyfriend at the time of her July 2015 disappearance, was arrested in September and charged with complicity to murder and tampering with physical evidence in the case. He remains in jail at the Oldham County Detention Center on a $10 million cash bond awaiting trial.Â
Ballard and Rogers' four children, the administrators of her estate, are suing Houck for "intentionally and wrongfully causing the death of" Rogers.Â
The civil suit said Houck's actions against Rogers were "committed willfully, with oppression, fraud, or malice" and warrant punitive damages, to punish Houck and deter him and others "from similar acts in the future."
It goes on to claim the children lost their mother's love and affection, comfort, care and support.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages for wrongful death and asks for a jury trial.
A court date has not yet been set.
Houck has pleaded not guilty.Â
Two other men, Steve Lawson and his son, Joseph Lawson, have also been charged in the Rogers case.Â
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