On the ten-year anniversary of Crystal Rogers' disappearance, the defense rested its case Thursday in the trial of two men charged in her presumed murder.
A former homicide detective with the Louisville Metro Police Department spent much of the day on the witness stand in the trial of Brooks Houck and Joseph Lawson.
Houck was Crystal Rogers' boyfriend and father of one of her children when she disappeared July 3, 2015. He's charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence, and faces 25 years to life in prison. Lawson is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence, facing up to 25 years behind bars. His father, Steve Lawson, was convicted on the same charges May 30.
Retired detective Denver Butler, who is now a law enforcement consultant, was asked by the defense to review files from dozens of searches in Bardstown over the past ten years. He testified that no DNA evidence was found in searches of Houck's home, farm, vehicles, and bodies of water in Nelson County.
In a search as recent as 2024, the FBI dug up a driveway and porch in a neighborhood Houck was developing around the time Rogers went missing. Women's clothing and hairs were found underneath, but Rogers' DNA wasn't found on any of the items.
Butler did say that hairs found in Rogers' car should have been tested, but were not. The testing of her car also found no DNA belonging to either Steve or Joseph Lawson, he said.
Under cross-examination, Special Prosecutor Shane Young asked Butler if it's possible to kill someone without leaving any bodily fluids.
"My experience with homicides, is that homicides leave trace evidence," Butler responded. "I think anything is possible, but it's highly unlikely."
Jeffrey Neuschatz, a cognitive psychologist, testified that interview tactics police used on two of the prosecution's witnesses were coercive.
Neuschatz said he found numerous problems with Charlie Girdley's Kentucky State Police interview. The former Houck employee testified that Steve Lawson approached him about Houck wanting to get rid of Rogers. He later testified that Joseph Lawson said he would "pull out her teeth and the hogs would do the rest."
Neuschatz also testified police used coercive tactics during an interview of Heather Snellen, who is Steve Lawson's ex-wife.
Houck's attorney Brian Butler asked the psychologist to explain why coercive interrogation tactics are problematic.
"They lead people to give statements that are in line with what they're being asked to do instead of what's accurate," Neuschatz said.
When questioned by Prosecutor Shane Young, Neuschatz acknowledged that coerced statements can still be true and the interrogation techniques used by Kentucky State Police are legal.
The two-week trial featured around 40 witnesses for the prosecution and six for the defense. Neither defendant took the stand in his own defense.
Closing arguments are scheduled for Monday morning with jury deliberations expected to start on Tuesday.
Copyright 2025 WKU Public Radio
