Brooks Houck charged with murder in Crystal Rogers case
Brooks Houck has been arrested and charged with the murder of Crystal Rogers, the Bardstown mother whose disappearance has mystified the public since she went missing in 2015.
Houck was Rogers' boyfriend at the time of her disappearance and is the father of one of her five children. He was identified as a suspect early in the investigation but has denied involvement.
Houck's arrest was announced by the FBI on Wednesday morning. He has been charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence, according to court documents. His bond is set at $10 million cash. He is also ordered to not have any contact with Rogers' family.
In the indictment, Houck is charged with murder "by intentionally or under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life wantonly causing the death of Crystal Rogers."
In a release, the FBI office said its officers have "been laser-focused on our commitment to hold accountable those that were responsible for the disappearance of Crystal Rogers. Today, we take a significant step in making good on that promise."
His arrest comes just weeks after the first arrest in the case. Earlier this month, Joseph Lawson was arrested in Nelson County and charged with conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence in connection with the case.
Lawson's name had not surfaced publicly in the investigation before his arrest. But WHAS reported that Houck made reference to an employee named Steve Lawson previously when interrogated by the Nelson County Sheriff's Office. The Courier Journal has not been able to confirm any relation between the two Lawsons.
Houck previously told officers that he'd last seen Rogers alive when they visited his family's farm the night before she disappeared July 3, 2015. A few days later, her car was found abandoned on Bluegrass Parkway with her keys, phone and purse inside.
Her body has never been recovered, but she is presumed dead. She was 35.
FBI agents took over the case in 2020 and have conducted multiple searches in and near Bardstown for her body and other evidence.
Over 150 federal agents served search warrants in August 2020 at three sites owned by Houck and his family members. An FBI Louisville spokesman at the time said all three locations had already been searched "to various degrees" over the years.
But the Bardstown farm where Rogers was last seen has been a focal point of the investigation, with the most recent search being conducted in late 2022. The land, which sits on 30 acres, is owned by Houck's mother.
In August 2021, agents searched a subdivision where Houck owns properties. Agents reportedly used a cadaver dog to search the subdivision and a Courier Journal photographer saw investigators using a jackhammer on the driveway of a home. The driveway was reportedly dug up, and large chunks of it were hauled out of the neighborhood in construction trucks.
On Sept. 7, 2021, the FBI announced that the search in Bardstown ended, with several "items of interest" sent to a lab in Virginia for testing.
No further information has been released on the evidence collected from these searches.
In 2015, Houck's brother, Nick, was fired as a police officer with Bardstown Police after interfering in the investigation.
The mayor of Bardstown said Nick Houck phoned his brother when he knew Brooks was being interviewed by detectives, warning that his brother "should protect himself," and that investigators "might be trying to trip him up," the Kentucky Standard reported in 2015.
City officials held an administrative hearing on Nick Houck's actions and fired him a day later.
Also, a home being built by Brooks Houck was burned down in 2019 in what city officials said was an arson case.
Brooks Houck's arraignment is set for Oct. 5 in Nelson Circuit Court.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Crystal Rogers case: Boyfriend Brooks Houck charged with murder
