On Tuesday morning, a jury will begin deciding the fate of two men charged in a decade-old murder case out of Bardstown. Brooks Houck and co-defendant Joseph Lawson have been on trial in Warren County since June 24 over the disappearance and presumed death of Crystal Rogers. The trial concluded on Monday with closing arguments from the defense and prosecution.
The 43-year-old Houck, who fathered a child with Rogers, is charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence. Lawson is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence. His father, Steve Lawson, was convicted in May on the same charges and received a recommended sentence of 17 years in prison.
Steve Lawson admitted he was guilty of tampering with physical evidence for helping his son move Rogers' vehicle after she disappeared. According to Lawson's own testimony, his son Joseph drove the car and Lawson picked him up when the vehicle had a flat tire, leaving it on the side of Bluegrass Parkway. None of that testimony has been allowed during the current trial.
The homicide trial has largely centered around circumstantial evidence.
In closing statements that lasted nearly three hours on Monday, the defense told jurors that Houck is not guilty of killing Rogers and Lawson is simply "collateral damage" in the prosecution's case against the two Nelson County men.
The defense continually hit on a number themes they pointed to throughout the trial: that there's no body, no crime scene, no weapon, no DNA evidence, and no motive for killing the 35-year-old Rogers, a mother to five young children.
Houck's attorney, Brian Butler, referred to the government's case as a "convoluted mess."
"The whole case is garbage," Butler suggested. "They start with the assumption he is guilty."
The defense argued that cell phone data proved Steve Lawson was on another road, trying to get a vehicle back from an ex-girlfriend the night of Rogers' disappearance, despite Lawson's own testimony that he picked up his son, Joseph, who abandoned Rogers' car on the Bluegrass Parkway. Butler reminded the jury that neither Joseph nor Steve Lawson's DNA was found in Rogers' car.
The defense also continued efforts to discredit some prosecution witnesses, including former employees of Houck's construction business. Butler said some of them were using alcohol and drugs around the time of Rogers went missing and their recollections were unreliable.
Butler also suggested a white Buick belonging to Houck's grandmother was sold to give the public one less reason to consider the family suspects in the case. The vehicle was seen at the Houck family farm the night Rogers went missing.
"There was nothing in that car," Butler said. "There's no DNA in that car. Not a drop of blood, not a skin cell, nothing."
A strand of hair, similar to Rogers', was found in the trunk of the Buick, but testing found it had no DNA profile.
"If you thought you were selling a car you had hauled a dead body in, you would clean it first," Butler argued. "This car wasn't clean. They found all kinds of hairs."
Butler also told jurors that police were "given marching orders to get Brooks Houck," calling into question interview tactics, a cadaver dog search, and the exclusion of other potential suspects. He also noted the jury didn't hear from the lead FBI investigator in the case because he didn't find any evidence.
"It's time to move on," Butler said. "It's time to send (Houck) home to his son. It's time to find him not guilty."
Special Prosecutor Shane Young began his closing arguments by stating, "If Crystal Rogers doesn't come home, this man is guilty of murder."
Young pointed to Houck at the defense table as he set out to convince jurors that Rogers didn't return to the home she shared with Houck the night of July 3, 2015.
Early in the trial, a friend testified being with Rogers on July 3 when she received a text from Houck inviting her on a romantic, no-child date. That date was a trip to the Houck family farm where prosecutors believe Rogers was killed.
"The surprise date was her (Rogers) surprise ending," stated Young.
In a written statement to police, Young said Houck didn't mention going to the farm that day, despite his cell records showing otherwise.
According to cell data, Rogers phone was turned off just before midnight when Houck is leaving the farm without Rogers, the prosecution argued. Houck told investigators Rogers did return home with him and was playing games on her phone in the living room just before 12:30 a.m. when he went to bed. Houck said he woke up the next morning to find Rogers missing. But according to cell phone data, Rogers couldn't have been on her phone at that time because the phone wasn't turned on again until July 6 after being turned off at 11:57 p.m. on July 3.
"She left with him, she didn't come home, and he (Houck) committed murder," argued Young.
As for a motive, Young argued that Houck had mentioned he didn't want to lose his two-year-old son Eli whom he shared with Rogers.
Young talked about Houck's strange behavior after Rogers' disappearance and how he went about his normal life the following day.
"He called twice to make him look good," Young suggested. "He's done absolutely nothing to find this woman. Why? He knows there's no sense in it."
The commonwealth highlighted that Houck ignored multiple calls and texts from Roger's daughter asking if her mother is with him.
"He's buying time because he knows if her family knows Crystal isn't with him, they'll go to the police."
Young reminded jurors that Rosemary and Nick Houck, Brooks' mother and brother, were seen moving items from the trunks of their cars. A neighbor also testified that Rosemary dug up flowers Rogers' had planted.
"She knows (Rogers) isn't coming back," Young said.
He went on to say the Houck family wasn't paranoid when they illegally recorded their grand jury testimony, as Houck's sister Rhonda McIllvoy testified last week. "They're trying to keep their story straight," Young said.
For the first time during the trial, Young acknowledged to jurors that he didn't know who killed Rogers.
"I'm telling you who was involved," speaking of Houck and the Lawsons. "Hold them both responsible for what they did."
Notably in the audience on Monday was Rosemary Houck, the mother of Brooks Houck. She's considered by prosecutors as an unindicted co-conspirator in Rogers' disappearance and presumed murder. Monday was her first day attending the two-and-a-half week trial. Previous testimony painted a strained relationship between her and Rogers.
Absent the entire trial was Rosemary Houck's other son, Nick, a former Bardstown police officer who was fired for interfering in the investigation. He, too, is considered an unindicted co-conspirator based on evidence presented by the prosecution. Neither Rosemary nor Nick have been charged with any crime related to the case.
The jury returns at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. Fifteen jurors heard testimony and three will be dismissed as alternates before a jury of 12 begins deliberations.
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