Verdict expected to be reached soon in Crystal Rogers trial

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (FOX 56) — It is a question that has been asked since July 3rd, 2015: What happened to Crystal Rogers?

Prosecutors tried to provide some answers over the last nine days in Bowling Green.

The defense teams for Brooks Houck and Joseph Lawson spoke for more than four hours, trying to convince jurors there is not enough evidence for a conviction.

Robert Boyd, Lawson’s attorney, said again that his client is collateral damage, caught up in an investigation that only focused on him, his father, Steve Lawson, and Houck. Boyd said there is no DNA evidence or any witnesses tying Joseph to the crime.

Prosecutor Shane Young called Houck a liar, FOX affiliate WDRB noted.

“She left with him,” he added, “She didn’t come home.”

On the other hand, Brian Butler, Houck’s attorney, went through witnesses one by one, saying why they are not credible, alleging some were on drugs and others made deals with the government and lied.

“The whole case is garbage,” Butler told the jury. “They are just throwing things against the wall.”

He said all the prosecution has is coerced witnesses, incorrect phone data, and speculation.

Butler noted that hundreds of FBI agents, K-9s, and others searched the Houcks’ farm and found no evidence of a murder being committed.

Young shot back, pointing out that after Rogers’ disappearance, Houck avoided multiple calls and texts from her family but answered a call from his mother.

“He’s done absolutely nothing to help find this woman,” he said, adding, “He knows there’s no sense in it.”

At the end of May, in a separate trial, Joseph Lawson’s father, Steve Lawson, admitted he helped his son move Rogers’ car after her disappearance.

He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with evidence. None of that testimony was allowed in this trial.

Jury deliberations will begin Tuesday.

If Houck is convicted of complicity to murder and tampering with evidence, he faces 20 years to life in prison. Joseph Lawson faces up to 25 years in prison on a conspiracy charge, as well as a charge of tampering with evidence.