BARDSTOWN (09/17/25) — A judge in Bardstown on Wednesday sentenced Brooks Houck to life in prison for the 2015 murder of his then-girlfriend Crystal Rogers. In July, a jury in Bowling Green found Houck guilty of murder (principal or accomplice to the crime) and complicity to evidence tampering. Rogers was reported missing with her car found abandoned on the Bluegrass Parkway. Her body was never found. Joseph Lawson, who also stood trial with Houck, was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence. Lawson’s father. Steven, was tried separately and convicted of conspiracy and evidence tampering charges. He was sentenced to 17 years in prison.
