BACKGROUND: "Rogers, a 35-year-old mother of five, was reported missing by her mother, Sherry Ballard, on July 5, 2015. Her body has never been found. Lawson’s trial began Tuesday at the Warren County Justice Center in Bowling Green. Lawson took the stand Friday, saying he thought his “job” was to move Rogers’ car and denying that Rogers’ boyfriend, Brooks Houck, asked him to kill Rogers, WBKO reported."
https://draft.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/preview/120008354894645705/4872342910978668341
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PASSAGE ONE OF THE DAY: "Wolff also said that Lawson had "no knowledge" that Brooks Houck intended to kill her and there was no evidence he agreed to take part. "Where did we hear evidence he agreed to the planning of murder?" Wolff asked the jury."
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "Rogers was last seen alive on July 3, 2015, during the Fourth of July weekend. Days later, her car was found abandoned — still running — on the side of the Bluegrass Parkway. Her purse and other belongings were inside. Despite years of searching, she's never been found. Brooks Houck, Rogers' boyfriend at the time of her disappearance, is charged with her murder and will stand trial next month in Bowling Green with Lawson’s son Joseph. Joseph Lawson is facing the same charges as his father, conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence."
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STORY: "Steve Lawson found guilty on all charges in connection to Crystal Rogers' murder," by Digital Reporter Jason Riley, published by WDRB, on May 30, 2025. (Jason Riley is a criminal justice reporter for WDRB.com. He joined WDRB News in 2013 after 14 years with The Courier-Journal. He graduated from Western Kentucky University.)
PHOTO CAPTION: "The judge will have the final say on how long Lawson will spend behind bars, scheduling a formal sentencing date for Aug. 6."
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GIST: "After just more than two hours of deliberation, a Warren County jury found Steve Lawson, one of three men charged in connection with the death of Crystal Rogers, guilty on all charges.
Lawson, 54, was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence. The jury recommended 17 years in prison, and the formal sentencing date is scheduled for August 6 in Nelson County.
Sherry Ballard, Crystal Rogers' mother, cried and hugged family members after hearing the guilty verdict. Lawson did not react.
The defense plans to appeal the verdict.
The judge had previously warned spectators in the court against any outburst or potential anger toward the jury.
Lawson, wearing jeans and a red-button shirt, was handcuffed and led from the courtroom after he was sentenced.
The Ballard family declined to comment at this time.
During the sentencing phase, Tori Rogers, Crystal's daughter, who was 11 when her mom went missing, said "I still think we will find her, but not the way we hoped."
Visibly shaking and crying, Rogers told the jury, "it's not gotten easier. It's harder every day."
Lawson's mother, Barbara Colter, said she wanted to apologize to the Ballard family, "especially Sherry."
She told the jury she never expected her son to be involved in something like this.
"It blows me away," she said.
Defense attorney Darren Wolff told jurors before sentencing that "we don't even know if there was a murder. Take mercy and pity on him."
But prosecutor Shane Young asked for the maximum sentence, which would have been 25 years, saying Lawson was part of the plan to murder Rogers.
"He stuck a knife in them (the Ballard family) and twisted it over and over," Young told the jury, his voice rising. "Don't have pity on him. Don't take mercy on him. Give him every freaking thing he deserves. He took those kids' mother from them."
Rogers, 35, was a mother of five.
The jury took less than an hour to deliberate the sentence.
The trial, which began Tuesday, moved unusually quick, especially for a case that has been under investigation for ten years and produced thousands of documents, videos, pictures, data, hours of interviews and other evidence.
Rogers was last seen alive on July 3, 2015, during the Fourth of July weekend.
Days later, her car was found abandoned — still running — on the side of the Bluegrass Parkway. Her purse and other belongings were inside. Despite years of searching, she's never been found.
Brooks Houck, Rogers' boyfriend at the time of her disappearance, is charged with her murder and will stand trial next month in Bowling Green with Lawson’s son Joseph. Joseph Lawson is facing the same charges as his father, conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence.
The defense acknowledged in their opening statements and throughout the trial that Lawson was guilty of tampering with physical evidence for helping his son move Rogers' vehicle after she disappeared.
Joseph Lawson drove Rogers' car, and his father picked him up when the vehicle had a flat tire, leaving it on the side of Bluegrass Parkway.
Before they left, Steve Lawson reached into Rogers' car and moved the driver's seat forward — because Rogers was short — and removed a miniature Louisville Slugger bat his son carried around regularly.But Wolff argued "that's the extent of his involvement."
He told the jury in his closing argument the prosecution didn't put on evidence to prove that Rogers was murdered or that Lawson had anything to do with her disappearance.
"We still don't know what happened to Crystal Rogers," Wolff said, noting the case is still under investigation.
Wolff also said that Lawson had "no knowledge" that Brooks Houck intended to kill her and there was no evidence he agreed to take part.
"Where did we hear evidence he agreed to the planning of murder?" Wolff asked the jury.
However, in his closing arguments, prosecutor Jim Lesousky said of Lawson, "This man, by his words, put himself in the middle of a conspiracy, an evil conspiracy."
Lesousky indicated that there was overwhelming evidence that Lawson knew about Houck wanting to kill Rodgers and helping him try and get away with it.
"He knew she was going to be killed," he said. "That was the plan."
Lesousky told jurors they need only review what Lawson told the grand jury when he testified in 2023 and listen to the testimony from those around him at the time Rogers disappeared.
"We know from his words and evidence he was an essential part in Brooks Houck's plan to kill this young lady," Lesousky said.
As for a motive, Lesousky told jurors Lawson also admitted that to grand jurors. Houck told him he would give him more business.
"That's why he did it," for money, Lesousky told the jury.
Earlier in the day Friday, the defense's last witness prompted gasps in the courtroom as Lawson took the stand, which can be a risky gamble for a defendant.
Lawson told the jury several times he doesn't know if Rogers is dead or if Houck has anything to do with her disappearance.
"I was just moving a vehicle," Lawson said, often addressing the jurors directly. "That's what I was told."
Asked why he lied repeatedly during the investigation, Lawson said "I didn't want to man up and take the blame" for tampering with her vehicle.
He admitted he was involved in tampering with Rogers' car after helping his son move it at the request of Houck. He testified he moved her seat forward because his son was much taller than Rogers and grabbed a mini baseball bat from the car.
During a previous discussion, Houck told Lawson he wanted his wife "gone." Lawson said you mean gone like "deceased?" Lawson said he wasn't the man for it and Houck had a lot of people working for him, including a man named Charlie Girdley, according to his testimony.
Girdley testified Wednesday as to the details of that conversation. Girdley "giggled" at his potential involvement, Lawson said.
Lawson testified that neither man believed Houck was serious. "He laughed it off, same as I did."
Houck "never came out and asked me to kill Crystal Rogers," Lawson told the jury.
The prosecution asked Lawson why he didn't inquire as to why Houck wanted Rogers' vehicle moved if she wasn't going to be killed.
"I don't know, I didn't ask," Lawson said. "I don't know why he wanted the car moved. I still don't know to this day."
Lesousky told Lawson that he testified in front of the grand jury that he helped move the car because there was a deal to get more work from Brooks, which is who he worked for. Lawson denied that saying he had asked for more work before July 2015.
Lawson repeatedly said he never agreed to help aid Houck in Rogers' disappearance and that he doesn't know if Houck did anything to her.
When Lesousky asked again if Houck told him why he wanted the car moved, Lawson said no, “why, was I supposed to?”
The entire story can be read at
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
———————————————————————————————
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
—————————————————————————————————
FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
