Brooks Houck asks KY Supreme Court to reverse conviction, grant new trial
A man convicted in the 2015 killing of Bardstown woman Crystal Rogers is asking the Kentucky Supreme Court to overturn his sentence.
Brooks Houck, 43, filed his appeal with the state’s highest court Wednesday, seeking a new trial or his conviction to be overturned altogether.
He was sentenced to life in prison after a jury found him guilty of murder, principal or accomplice, in the disappearance and presumed death of Rogers, his girlfriend at the time.
Alongside Houck, father and son Steve and Joseph Lawson, were convicted of lesser charges in Rogers’ death. Joseph Lawson and Houck’s cases were tried together, while Steve Lawson received his own trial.
Rogers, 35, was reported missing by her mother in July 2015. Her case gained national attention and was featured on several podcasts and crime shows. Houck was arrested in 2023, as were Steve and Joseph Lawson, who previously worked for Houck.
Life sentence appeals in Kentucky are guaranteed to be heard by the state Supreme Court.
Houck also submitted an appeal for several motions to be reconsidered by the Supreme Court in October 2025. That filing was submitted in state court, and the motions were also included in the latest direct appeal to the Supreme Court.
Houck’s lawyers argue that prosecutors proved neither that Rogers died nor that Houck was involved in her disappearance.
“The commonwealth offered no evidence of how the alleged murder was committed, presented no evidence of a murder scene, and could not even identify the venue of the alleged murder,” the appeal reads.
Houck’s lawyers also argue their client should receive a new trial due to multiple alleged legal and constitutional errors in how the case was tried and handled by presiding Nelson County Judge Charles Simms III.
The lawyers cite claims including jury issues, evidence and admission rulings.
They argue that Simms should have recused himself from presiding over the case, and that Simms had his mind made up about Houck’s guilt during a separate case in 2017.
Further, they say that Houck and Joseph Lawson should not have been tried together.
Houck’s appeal claims four jurors were aware that Steve Lawson had been convicted prior to Houck’s trial, and were allowed to remain on the jury.
The appeal asks that the court reverse Houck’s conviction or grant him a new trial.
“With no body, no murder weapon, no idea of where the alleged murder occurred or how it allegedly occurred, the commonwealth presented a case made up entirely of circumstantial evidence,” the appeal reads.
This story was originally published January 22, 2026 at 2:02 PM.
