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Two men were convicted Tuesday in the murder of Kentucky mother Crystal Rogers, ending a decade-long case that earned national attention.
Brooks Houck, who was Roger’s boyfriend at the time, has been convicted of murder, whether directly perpetrated or as an accomplice, and complicity in tampering with evidence, as reported by The Courier Journal.
Joseph Lawson, the son of one of Houck’s former employees who allegedly assisted in the murder plan, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence.
Rogers, whose case was highlighted in Oxygen’s series The Disappearance of Crystal Rogers, went missing on July 3, 2015, after last being seen at Houck’s family farm.
Prosecutors argued in court that although they didn’t know which man actually killed Rogers, they believed Houck, Joseph, and Joseph’s father Steven Lawson, who was convicted in a separate trial, worked together to plan and cover up the crime, per Scripps News Lexington.
Kyleigh Fenwick, one of Rogers’ daughters who was just 14 years old when her mother disappeared, addressed the jury before they returned to the deliberation room to contemplate the recommended sentence for both men.
“I’ve waited a long time for this,” she said, according to the paper. “I just want you all to be fair and go with what’s in your heart.”
The jury ultimately recommended that Houck serve a life sentence with an additional five years for the tampering charge. They recommended that Lawson receive the maximum possible sentence of 25 years. The final sentences for both men will be determined at a hearing scheduled for Aug. 21.
What happened to Crystal Rogers?
Rogers had been dating and living with Houck, the father of her youngest child, when she disappeared on July 3, 2015.
Prosecutors argued in court that Houck lured his girlfriend to his family’s farm that night with the promise of a surprise date which prosecutor Shane Young said soon “turned into a surprise ending” for the mother of five, according to Scripps News Lexington.
Although prosecutors didn’t lay out a specific motive for the murder, witness Ashley Nally, an employee at Houck’s home building business, testified during the trial that the couple frequently argued and that Houck was reluctant to leave the relationship because he didn’t want to lose any custody of his son, the Courier Journal reported.
Rogers’ car was later found abandoned along the freeway with her personal belongings, including her purse and phone, inside the vehicle, Oxygen previously reported.
Her body was never found.
The evidence at trial
Defense attorneys argued in court that there was a lack of physical evidence to tie either man to the crime, with Houck’s defense attorney Brian Butler calling the state’s case a “witch hunt.”
“The whole case is garbage,” he told the jury in his closing arguments, according to the local paper. “They’re just throwing stuff against the wall.”
Along with no body, authorities also never located a murder weapon.
Prosectors, however, contended that Houck had repeatedly lied about his whereabouts that night and cell phone records showed that he and the Lawsons were communicating throughout the night.
They believe Lawson drove Rogers’ car until it got a flat tire along the side of the road and he had to call his father Steven Lawson to pick him up. It was that phone call and the car later being found along the roadway, Young said in court, that helped tie the case together.
“They were close to this being perfect,” he said, according to Kentucky station WDRB.
Brooks Houck was arrested in 2022
The case garnered national attention, but it would take years before Houck was arrested in 2022.
“In coordination with the Kentucky State Police, other local and federal law enforcement partners, FBI Louisville has been laser-focused on our commitment to hold accountable those that were responsible for the disappearance of Crystal Rogers. Today, we take the first step in making good on that process,” a statement from FBI Louisville read at the time.
Steven was the first to go on trial in May. He was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence. The jury recommended he receive a 17-year sentence, although his final sentencing hearing is not scheduled until Aug. 6.
Community comes together for Crystal Rogers’ family
It has been a long road to justice for Rogers’ mother, Sherry Ballard. After news of the verdict Tuesday, July 8, 2025, residents of Bardstown, where Ballard lives, lined the streets carrying signs and balloons in support of the jury’s decision.
“We’re gonna line these streets, we’re gonna give them the welcome home that they’ve been fighting for,” family friend Beth Wooley told NBC affiliate WLEX, describing the 10-year long case as “heart-shattering.”
Although Ballard chose not to address reporters while leaving the courthouse, Rogers’ daughter Ashley Miller described how difficult it has been without her mother.
“There’s been days of my life I just sat down and cried because she was not there,” she said, according to WDRB.
To learn more about the case, watch The Disappearance of Crystal Rogers on Oxygen.
