When we find out if their trials will be separate - I shall keep all of them on one summary.
Monday, July 8th:
*Motions Hearing (for
Houck) (@ 9am ET) - KY –
Crystal Maria Rogers (35) (reported missing July 3, 2015; car (with flat tire) was found July 5, 2015 on Bluegrass Parkway near mile marker 14 with keys in ignition & her belongings (phone & purse) in car, Bardstown). – *
Brooks William Houck (33 @ time of crime/41/now 42) arrested,
charged & indicted (9/27/23) & arraigned (10/5/23) with felony murder & tampering with physical evidence. Plead not guilty. Bond $10M
CASH Only! Reduction of bond (to $500K)
denied (10/9/23). KY Supreme Court
denied (3/12/24) review of bond reduction. Was transferred (9/27/23) from Nelson County jail to Hardin County Detention Center. Was transferred (12/13/23) to Oldham County Detention Center. Nelson County
*Joseph Stephen Lee Allen Lawson (24 @ time of crime/32/now 33) arrested, indicted &
charged (7/24/23) with criminal conspiracy to commit murder &
charged (6/21/23) with complicity in tampering with physical evidence. Bond $50K unsecured bond (tampering) & $550K
Cash bond (conspiracy). Bond reduced (2/12/24) to $250K Cash bond. Plead not guilty. Held in Grayson County Kentucky Detention Center. Nelson County
*Steven Eugene Lawson (48 @ time of crime/53) indicted, arrested &
charged (12/7/23) & arraigned (12/21/23) with conspiracy to commit murder & tampering with physical evidence. Plead not guilty. $500K Cash only bond. Bond reduced to $250K (1/9/24). He's currently incarcerated in Harrison County, IN. Lawson was serving time at the Kentucky State Reformatory for a previous conviction, but that time will be served out in the coming weeks. He was moved to the Grayson County Detention Center this morning (5/3/24) & is currently in custody. Nelson County
Trial set to begin on 2/10/25. Trial will be held in Christian County.
Nelson Circuit Court Judge Charles Simms III presiding. Special prosecutor Shane Young. Houck’s defense attorneys Brian Butler, Michael Denbow & Jennifer Henry Jackson. S. Lawson’s defense attorney Theodore Lavit & J. Lawson’s defense attorney Kevin Coleman.
Case & Court info from 7/23/20 (Houck & J. Lawson) & from 12/7/23 (S Lawson) thru 5/21/24 reference post #519 here:
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...y-3-july-2015-4-arrest-in-2023.690447/page-26
6/4/24 Docket update: Defendant Houck's Sur-Reply in Opposition to Commonwealth's Motion to consolidate filed. Houck submitted a 40-page motion rebuffing Prosecutor Shane Young's request to consolidate the three defendants into a singular joint trial & sharing previously unreleased details about Steve Lawson's testimony to investigators, which his defense attorney has said was given under an unkept promise of immunity. Houck's motion provides excerpts of transcribed interviews that allegedly took place between Lawson & police, but an audio copy is not included in court documents. Motions hearing on 6/13/24 for all.
6/13/24 Update: Judge Charles Simms is considering the motion of whether to drop the charges against Lawson after the hearing that lasted a little over an hour. Thursday’s hearing focused on the motion to dismiss charges against Lawson based on the offer of immunity. “As I take it, there’s no agreement that was ever in writing. Is that is that correct? So everything was an oral situation?” Simms said. The commonwealth’s attorney, special prosecutor Shane Young, confirmed the offer of oral immunity was conditional on whether Lawson was 100% truthful & had no omissions. The Commonwealth provided four audio & video clips supporting their argument that Lawson was not 100% truthful. Judge Charles Simms did not rule on dismissing the charges against Lawson, nor what testimony wouldn’t be allowed at trial. A ruling is expected in the coming days. Neither Houck or Joseph Lawson were in court. A hearing on the state’s motion to consolidate the trial in relation to Houck’s objection will be held on 7/8/24 @ 9am.
6/14/24 Update: In an investigative document released on Friday, Steve Lawson told investigators that his son & a man named Jeremy Thompson were digging on the farm on Thompson Hill Road within five days of Rogers' disappearance in 2015. The document, filed in Nelson Circuit Court, appears to be additional evidence submitted to bolster the prosecution's argument against Steve Lawson getting immunity for cooperating with investigators. The newly-released document confirms that a dig site, where WAVE News crews saw authorities digging as part of a “murder investigation” in Nelson County, has been confirmed as a possible location for the body of Crystal Rogers.
7/3/24 Update: Steve Lawson: An attempt to have the case against him tossed out failed on Wednesday after a judge denied Lawson's dismissal motion. Judge Charles Simms denied Lawson’s motion to dismiss. In the order, Simms wrote that while an immunity agreement was made during Steven's discussions with law enforcement, Steven made “wildly inconsistent” statements to investigators & therefore breached the agreement by being untruthful. However, Steve Lawson's grand jury testimonies in June & September 2023 are admissible because there were no discussions of plea negotiations or immunity during these proceedings. Therefore, Steve Lawson did not have clear or reasonable belief to think he was negotiating a plea at that point, Simms ruled. One inconsistency Simms pointed to in his order was Steven's statements to investigators about a call between him & Houck on the night of Rogers’ disappearance. Steven at one point told authorities that he made the call to inquire about an apartment for his daughter, according to the order. He later told a Nelson County Grand Jury that the call was to “let Brooks Houck know the job is done,” the order read. Simms also ruled Wednesday that Lawson would be able to decide if he wants to exclude statements he made in several interviews he did with law enforcement. Lawson is set to appear in court on 8/8/24 to inform the judge whether he wishes to exclude the interviews in question.
7/7/24 Update: Joseph Lawson is not scheduled to appear in court on Monday. Prosecutors have argued the men should stand trial together because they're facing the same charges & allegedly worked with each other. Prosecutors are questioning why Steve Lawson called Houck after Rogers went missing in 2015. Butler argues he "fabricated the entire story" of what happened after she went missing because he was "threatened, coerced & promised immunity by investigators." Joseph Lawson's next hearing is scheduled for later this month.
Japan - Miyazawa family of 4 murdered, Setagaya, Tokyo, 30 Dec 2000 #3
