Brooks Houck found guilty of charges related to disappearance of Crystal Rogers
Brooks Houck was found guilty Tuesday of charges related to the disappearance and presumed death of Bardstown mother Crystal Rogers.
Jurors convicted Houck, 43, of murder — principal or accomplice, and evidence tampering after four hours of deliberations Tuesday.
Houck was dating Rogers, 35, at the time of her high-profile 2015 disappearance. He was the last person to see her alive.
Joseph Lawson, 34, was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and evidence tampering.
A third suspect, Steven Lawson, 51, the father of Joseph Lawson, was convicted in a previous trial for conspiracy to commit murder and evidence tampering.
After deliberating for just five minutes Tuesday afternoon, the jury recommended the maximum sentences for both Houck and Joseph Lawson.
Houck faces 20 years to life in prison on the murder charge and up to 5 years for evidence tampering.
Joseph Lawson faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for the conspiracy charge and up to 5 years for evidence tampering.
Lawson would be eligible for parole after 17 years.
Judge Charles Simms III, who presided over the trial, will consider the jury’s recommendations and either affirm or overrule them at a future hearing.
Attorney General Russell Coleman said “justice was served” in the Bowling Green courtroom.
“Our commonwealth never forgot Crystal Rogers, her children, and loved ones,” Coleman said. “Prosecutor Shane Young and law enforcement’s dedication to justice, coupled with the tenacity of Rogers’ family, is the reason for this victory.”
Rogers’ family held hands and wept Tuesday afternoon as the jury read the verdicts. Jon Snow, the former lead detective on the case, cried too.
Rogers’ second-oldest daughter, Kyleigh Fenwick, testified during the sentencing phase that she and her family have waited a long time for justice.
“We ask that you all be fair and do what is in your hearts,” Fenwick said.
Jurors sat through 10 days of trial proceedings and heard from nearly 50 witnesses since the trial began June 24 in Bowling Green.
Prosecutor Shane Young laid out a timeline of the day of Rogers’ disappearance, which he said implicated several members of Houck’s family, though no other family members have been charged.
In the state’s version of events, Houck lured Rogers to the Houck family farm on Paschal Ballard Lane under the impression they were going to have a “surprise date night.”
While Young said he doesn’t know what happened on the farm, Young said it’s the last place Rogers was seen alive, and she was never heard from again.
But defense attorneys argued there were flaws in prosecutors’ case against Houck. Rather than hard evidence and facts, the state’s case relied on jurors to consider “what was possible,” said Houck’s attorney, Brian Butler.
Over a decade, investigators expended a vast array of resources, involving many law enforcement agencies, but ultimately yielded no physical evidence, Butler told the jury.
Houck has been the primary suspect since Rogers went missing.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
This story was originally published July 8, 2025 at 1:49 PM.
