WQXE News

The prosecution continued calling witnesses as the trial of Crystal Rogers investigation suspects Brooks Houck and Joseph Lawson continued at the Warren County Justice Center Friday morning.

The prosecution called Heather Snellen, who dated Steven Lawson and co-owned a vehicle with him. She testified that Lawson took the vehicle from her in early 2015, and then on July 3, 2015, she spotted the vehicle at the 62 South bar in Bardstown. After using her key fob to confirm the vehicle was hers, she drove the vehicle to her then-husband’s grandparents’ house on Boston Road.

Snellen testified that she cleaned the vehicle out the next day and discovered needles, tourniquets, a bag of wet clothing, and a Louisville Slugger baseball bat. Lawson testified at his trial last month that Joseph Lawson owned a Louisville Slugger which Steven Lawson said he removed from Rogers’s vehicle when he picked Joseph Lawson up on the Bluegrass Parkway.

Snellen testified that she and Lawson resumed dating in 2017, during which time she was a methamphetamine user and Joseph Lawson was her supplier. She testified that while doing laundry at Steven Lawson’s residence one night, she overheard the Lawsons talking about moving a body at the Houck farm, although they did not say whose body. She testified that she did not bring this to the FBI or Kentucky State Police in subsequent interviews because drugs were her “main focus” at this time. She eventually told a grand jury what she overheard. Defense attorneys for Houck questioned Snellen about the pressure she was put under by investigators with the Kentucky State Police, but on redirect  Snellen said: “The truth is I overheard them talking about moving a body at the Houck Farm.”

The prosecution called Louisville Metro Police Department Detective Tim O’Daniel as an expert witness to discuss call detail records and location analysis he conducted on Houck and Steven Lawson at the request of the KSP in 2022. O’Daniel testified that on July 3, 2015, Houck’s phone was at the Houck farm from about 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., which contradicts Houck’s statement to police on his whereabouts that day. O’Daniel testified that Houck’s phone was at the farm until 11:57 p.m., after which it was shown at the My Old Kentucky Home Campground before arriving back at Houck’s home right before 12:19 a.m. 

The prosecution called Mary Mattingly, who moved in across the street from Houck and Rogers about 10 months prior to the disappearance. She testified that prior to the disappearance Nick and Rosemary Houck were never at the house, but she then started seeing them at the house almost every day. Mattingly testified that one day she saw Nick Houck carry four white bags out of the home and place them in the back of his and Rosemary’s cars, and a few days later she saw Rosemary Houck removing flowers Rogers had planted.

The prosecution will continue their case as the trial resumes Monday morning.

With the Fourth of July holiday comes fireworks, so if you plan on playing with any pyrotechnics this week make sure you are doing so safely.

“Make sure you’re away from buildings, vehicles, things like that,” said Radcliff Deputy Fire Marshal Tommy Crane. “Make sure you have some water available. Make sure that only adults, grown-ups are lighting the fireworks, not children.”

Make sure you are properly lighting fireworks on a flat surface. Never try to re-light a “dud” firework, and make sure used fireworks and debris has cooled down before disposing of it.

Remember to keep an eye on the kids during fireworks season.

“The tip of a sparkler is about 1,200 degrees,” Crane said. “Glass melts at 900 degrees, so think about that before you hand a child a sparkler to run around with. That’s a lot of heat.”

The safest way to enjoy fireworks is to leave it to the professionals.

“We in the fire service, we recommend just watching a professional display,” Crane said. “There’s a lot of those that are put on, and they’re very good. Usually they’re put on during another event, so there’s other activities for everybody to do.”

Check with your local municipality on what hours fireworks are allowed.

The trial of Crystal Rogers investigation suspects Brooks Houck and Joseph Lawson continued at the Warren County Justice Center Thursday morning.

The prosecution submitted a recording of the interview former Nelson County Sheriff’s Office Detective Jon Snow, the lead investigator on the case from 2015 to 2019, conducted with Houck at the sheriff’s office on July 8, 2015. In the recording, Houck willingly submitted his cell phone for police to download a CDR record of it. Snow told Houck: “For better or worse, you are the person of interest in the case.” Snow then asked Houck to write down a detailed statement recounting what all he did from the morning of July 3 through the evening of July 5. Houck is seen in the video writing his statement, then he reads the statement to himself out loud. Snow testified that this was unusual since he was told he would get a copy of the statement.

The recording shows Snow asked Houck about a phone call that his cell phone record showed came in shortly after midnight on July 4. Houck said he did not recognize the number but would put it in his phone, at which time he said the number belonged to Steven Lawson. Houck called Lawson, and Snow testified that it stood out to him that Lawson immediately started talking about the rental properties when Houck mentioned skid steer work.

On cross examination, Houck’s lawyer Steve Schroeing asked Snow about the various searches of Houck’s home and the Houck farm along with phone records, and Snow testified that investigators found no evidence in those searches. Snow testified that nobody was charged and Rogers was not found when he was lead detective on the case. Schroeing submitted into evidence phone calls made by Houck to Rogers’s number and text messages with people asking about Rogers’s whereabouts on July 4 and 5, 2015.

At the end of his testimony, a juror asked Snow if the clothes Rogers was seen wearing in surveillance video on July 3 were found. Snow testified that they were not.

The prosecution called witnesses from several Bardstown offices or businesses Houck told investigators he visited on July 3, with the witnesses saying they did not see Houck and that their offices were closed on July 3 for Independence Day. The prosecution also called Ritchie Riggs, a realtor who worked frequently with Houck and lived near Houck and Rogers. He testified that Rogers told him about a week before her disappearance that she was afraid Houck was getting ready to kick her out of the house.

The prosecution also called Danny Singleton, who did construction work for Houck. Singleton testified that Rosemary Houck had spoken with him at a job site and said she wanted to find someone to help get rid of Rogers. Singleton said he told her that “with money, you can get anything done” but did not recommend anybody or get further involved. On cross examination, Singleton noted that he was in jail on a felony Perjury charge related to lying about where he was on July 3, 2015, when he was visited by investigators in April 2016 and agreed to tell them of his interaction with Rosemary Houck, after which his sentence was changed to a misdemeanor. 

The trial is scheduled to resume Friday morning.