Steven Lawson found guilty of conspiracy to murder in Crystal Rogers case
Steven Lawson, one of three defendants charged in the murder of Crystal Rogers, a Bardstown mother who went missing in 2015, has been found guilty, according to multiple media reports.
Lawson, who was charged with conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence, was found guilty on both counts Friday afternoon.
The jury deliberated for just over two hours before reaching its verdict, WDRB-TV reported.
The jury recommended that Lawson be sentenced to 17 years for conspiracy to murder and five years for evidence tampering, with the sentences running concurrently, the Courier Journal reported. Sentencing was scheduled for Aug. 6.
Rogers, a 35-year-old mother of five, was reported missing by her mother, Sherry Ballard, on July 5, 2015. Her body has never been found.
Lawson’s trial began Tuesday at the Warren County Justice Center in Bowling Green.
Lawson took the stand Friday, saying he thought his “job” was to move Rogers’ car and denying that Rogers’ boyfriend, Brooks Houck, asked him to kill Rogers, WBKO reported.
Rogers’ mother took the stand on the first day of the trial and said she knew something had happened to her daughter when she saw her 2-year-old grandson in the back of Houck’s vehicle when she was on the way to the sheriff’s office to report Rogers missing.
“My daughter never left that baby,” Ballard said.
Lawson, 54, of Chaplin in Nelson County, is the first of three defendants to be tried in the case.
Lawson’s son, Joseph Lawson, and Houck are scheduled for a joint trial in late June.
Houck is charged with murder and tampering with evidence. Joseph Lawson is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and complicity to tampering with evidence.
This story was originally published May 30, 2025 at 6:09 PM.
