Crystal Rogers ex-boyfriend to spend life in prison for her death, disappearance

BARDSTOWN, Ky. (FOX 56) — Crystal Rogers’ boyfriend and his accomplices were read their sentences on Wednesday.

Rogers was last seen on July 3, 2015, and her mother reported her missing two days later after her vehicle was found at mile marker 14 on the Bluegrass Parkway. Her body has yet to be found.

Securing convictions in the case came in two parts for Prosecutor Shane Young after a judge ruled that Steven Lawson couldn’t be tried with his counterparts. He admitted to moving Rogers’ car to the Bluegrass Parkway with his son Joseph and was convicted in May.

Rogers’ former boyfriend, Brooks Houck, and his former employee, Joseph Lawson, wouldn’t stand trial until late June. Ultimately, being found guilty as charged, 10 years after the mother of five disappeared.

Houck and Lawson learned their final sentences on Wednesday, Sept. 17, after facing delays due to Lawson experiencing health issues from a 2021 motorcycle crash.

According to the Louisville FOX affiliate, WDRB, Houck received a life sentence for murder (principal or accomplice to the crime) and complicity to tampering with evidence. He will be eligible for parole after 18 years.

Lawson was sentenced to 25 years in conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence. His father, Steven, received a 17-year prison sentence for his role in the crime.

Investigators have said the fight isn’t over until they can lay Rogers to rest.

“I pray one day you will grow a heart and have the decency to tell me where my daughter is,” WDRB reported that Ballard told Houck. “You owe that to your son.”

Houck and Rogers shared one child, Eli.

Houck’s sister was granted permanent custody of the 12-year-old boy on Monday, just days before his father would be sentenced to life in prison.