Witness claims Houck said he wanted to ‘Get rid of his old lady’ in Crystal Rogers trial

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (FOX 56) — The trial of Brooks Houck and Joseph Lawson continued Monday in Bowling Green, nearly 10 years after Crystal Rogers disappeared in Bardstown.

According to the FOX affiliate in Louisville, WDRB, Monday’s testimony focused on a white Buick sedan spotted near the Houck family farm the night Rogers vanished.

Witnesses said the car matched one owned by Houck’s grandmother—a vehicle that was later sold just days after Rogers’ father posted about it on social media. A hair found in the trunk was similar to Rogers’, but it’s unclear if DNA testing was done.

Another witness, Charlie Girdley, claimed Steve Lawson told him Houck wanted to, “Get rid of his old lady.” Girdley also said he drank and did drugs the night Rogers disappeared and admitted to lying to police in the past.

Defense attorneys spent hours challenging his statements and pointed to coercion by detectives.

A former girlfriend of Nick Houck, Brooks’ brother, testified that he disappeared for nearly 24 hours the same day Rogers went missing. She said he ignored her calls and left his phone off, something she claimed he had never done before.

Investigators also laid out a timeline of late-night calls and texts between the suspects, including activity on the Bluegrass Parkway, where Rogers’ car was found abandoned.

Brooks Houck and Joseph Lawson could each face decades in prison if convicted.

The trial is expected to last several more weeks.