BARDSTOWN, Ky. — Two of the three men charged in the death of Crystal Rogers appeared before a Nelson County judge on Thursday.
Rogers, 35, was reported missing over the Fourth of July weekend in 2015. She has been presumed dead for nearly nine years.
Brooks Houck, Rogers’ boyfriend, is charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence in her case. Two other men, Joseph and Steven Lawson, are charged with conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence.
Houck and Steven Lawson walked into the courtroom in shackles, while Joseph Lawson appeared over video from jail.
Despite several motions on the table for discussion. the hearing only lasted 20 minutes with no decisions being made.
Where will the Crystal Rogers case trial be?
Special Prosecutor Shane Young agreed with defense attorneys that the February 2025 trial should be taken out of Bardstown due to the attention the case has received in the media and the community.
"The venue should be changed," he said. "I've talked to defense counsel, we're all three going to get together and talk, then make a proposal to your honor, if we can make an agreement. If not, we'll let your honor tell us where to be."
Read the motion to move the Crystal Rogers trial out of Bardstown:
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Judge Simms requested attorneys find a courtroom large enough for public viewing and a separate entrance for jurors.
The suspects' attorneys have previously recommended Daviess or Boyd Counties as potential options. The two are similar to Nelson County, but are hours away.
Attorneys plan to reconvene for a short hearing on May 1 to pick a final location.
Willie Downs, a friend of Rogers' family, doesn't believe the miles will make much of a difference.
"It's nationally known, you ain't going to be able to sweep it underneath the floor," he said after the hearing. "There is still a lot of unanswered questions."
Slow wheels of justice
The three other motions up for consideration -- including whether or not to try the men together -- were pushed back to another court date on June 13.
Judge Simms has set aside an entire day for that hearing. Attorneys said they plan to share video clips from interrogations, meaning it could be the first time we get a look at some of the evidence in Rogers' case.
Attorney Ted Lavit said he's eager to ask the judge to dismiss the charges against his client Steve Lawson. He claims Lawson talked to police under a shield of immunity.
"At no time was my man never promised immunity," he said. At all times he promised immunity. In my presence and outside of my presence. Before I got involved and after I got involved. There's no question about that."
According to Lavit, Lawson told police and prosecutors the truth, but it wasn't the truth they wanted to hear.
"He said 'this is the truth, this is all I know, I can't say what you want me to say. I'm telling you all I know,' and he did," he said.
Lavit also described an inappropriate scene in the interrogation room, accusing investigators of mistreating his client.
"They hollered at him, they yelled at him, screamed at him, they spit in his face," Lavit said. "I watched it on video. He asked me to come in and stop it. We returned several other times for meeting and they badgered him, but he cooperated."
Ultimately, it will be up to the judge to decide what happened and where the case goes.
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