Judge in Crystal Rogers case rules against joint trial for all three defendants
A Nelson County judge ruled that two of three men charged in the disappearance and suspected murder of Bardstown mother Crystal Rogers will have a joint trial.
Rogers, a 35-year-old mother from Bardstown, went missing in July 2015. Her body has never been found, but she is presumed dead.
Brooks Houck, Rogers' former boyfriend, was indicted late last year on charges of murder and evidence tampering, while Stephen and Joseph Lawson, a father and son, were indicted on charges of criminal conspiracy to commit murder and complicity to tampering with physical evidence.
All three have pleaded not guilty.
Nelson County Circuit Judge Charles Simms III ruled Tuesday the Houck and Joseph Lawson will have a joint trial while Steven Lawson's trial will be separate, according to a 10-page ruling.
Steven Lawson was severed from the joint trial because of statements he made that are inadmissable in court. Simms said Steven Lawson's testimony throughout the investigation is best described as "ever-evolving," and Houck and Joseph Lawson would want to provide explanations for Steven Lawson's testimony in a joint trial.
"Their proposed explanation comes from the interviews which the Commonwealth has stipulated are inadmissible against S. Lawson," Simms wrote in his ruling.
Steven Lawson also made "wildly inconsistent" statements during interviews, Simms said. Steven Lawson also made untruthful statements during the interviews.
"This court finds that Houck and J. Lawson would suffer undue prejudice if the jury would hear S. Lawson's grand jury testimonies, but not his interviews," Simms said in the ruling.
Houck and the Lawsons were originally charged separately, but a motion was filed early on by prosecutor Shane Young to consolidate the three cases. Subsequent motions followed from defendants aiming to keep the charges — and trials — detached.
Houck's attorney, Brian Butler, previously argued against joint trials . Butler said if the court were to try the three defendants together, it would be prejudicial to Houck, who would not be legally able to cross-examine either Lawson if they spoke as witnesses, violating his constitutional rights.
If all the defendants were to receive separate trials, Houck would be able to confront the other two men in their testimony. Butler said the circumstance of a joint trial would be "unduly prejudiced" against Houck.
Steven Lawson's trial is set for February 2025. Houck and Joseph Lawson are scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 5 to set a new trial date.
