WQXE News
After two days and six witnesses, the defense in the trial of Crystal Rogers investigation suspects Brooks Houck and Joseph Lawson rested their case Thursday.
Houck’s defense attorney Brian Butler called Dr. Jeffrey Neuschatz, a professor of psychology at the University of Alabama Huntsville, who the court accepted as an expert “on cognitive psychology regarding police interviews.” Neuschatz testified that a person’s memory of a specific event can be impacted by multiple factors including exposure time, the amount of time that has passed since the event, and language choices made when asked about the event. He also testified on how post-event information can change or contaminate a memory. Neuschatz testified that the Reid technique, a nine-step method often used by law enforcement during interrogations, has been criticized by experts, and said organizations such as The Exoneration Project say the Reid technique can lead to “perjured testimony, false accusations, and official misconduct.” He testified that coercive tactics can be problematic to an investigation because they result in statements based on what the subject is being asked to do rather than their accurate statement.
Neuschatz was asked by the defense to review Kentucky State Police interviews of Charlie Girdley and Heather Snellen, who were called as prosecution witnesses in the case, and he testified that he identified more than 300 tactics of coercive questioning in both interviews. Clips were played from the interviews with Neuschatz explaining instances of tactics. Neuschatz testified that in his experience studying and reviewing police interviews, “These are some of the most coercive interviews I have seen.”
The defense next called Denver Butler, a retired police sergeant formerly with the Louisville Metro Police Department and the founder of Clemency Investigations, a nonprofit which conducts independent reviews of cases “with an actual claim of innocence.” The court accepted Butler as an expert on police investigations. He was asked about the multiple searches that have taken place over the course of the investigation, with Butler testifying that it was valid for law enforcement to continue searching for evidence in the case as DNA can survive years after a crime. One of the searches Butler was asked about was conducted in August of 2020 at 108 North Howard Road, a house Houck’s company built. Butler testified that investigators dug up the driveway and porch of the home, and while women’s underwear and clothing were discovered along with hairs, law enforcement found the items didn’t belong to Rogers and her DNA was not found on any of the items. On cross examination, Special Prosecutor Shane Young asked Butler if it is possible to kill somebody and not leave any bodily fluids, Butler testified that it is “possible, but not likely.”
After the defense rested its case, Nelson Circuit Judge Charles Simms III dismissed the jury to review motions for directed verdict of acquittal filed by both defenses, with Simms again denying the motions stating that enough evidence had been presented for a jury to deliberate. Simms asked the prosecution and defense to submit their arguments on jury instructions to him by Sunday morning. They will convene at 8:15 a.m. CDT Monday at the Warren County Justice Center to discuss any final motions, after which the jury will return to the courtroom at 9 a.m. to hear closing arguments.
The defense opened its case as the trial of Crystal Rogers investigation suspects Brooks Houck and Joseph Lawson continued at the Warren County Justice Center Wednesday.
Lawson’s attorney Kevin Coleman gave his defense’s opening statement to the jury. Coleman stated that Lawson is not guilty of either of the charges he faces, and described Lawson as “collateral damage” in the Commonwealth’s pursuit of convicting Houck.
The first witness called by Houck’s defense was Heath Farthing, the owner of So-Cal K9 Detection Services. Farthing testified that he does not recommend cross-training search dogs for both live searches and human remains detection, noting that many organizations including FEMA began not recommending the cross-training after the majority of cross-trained dogs used at Ground Zero following the September 11th attacks were signaling for live rescues when they had actually found deceased victims. When asked about the search conducted by Terry Benjamin’s dog in May of 2016 that involved a vehicle owned by Houck’s grandmother Anna Whitesides, Farthing testified that forensic processing the vehicle ahead of the search “absolutely” could have impacted the reliability of the search, as could Benjamin and the K9 being driven to the search by Detective Jamie Brooks.
Rhonda McIlvoy, Houck’s sister, was called to the stand. She testified that Houck and Rogers’s son Eli was born with an underdeveloped optic nerve in one of his eyes which has led to multiple treatment attempts and complications, including five trips to urgent care facilities in the last 21 months. She testified that she, her husband, and children were in Louisville on July 3, 2015, with a picture of her children standing next to the Louisville Slugger bat in downtown Louisville time stamped shortly after 7 p.m. submitted into evidence. When asked by the defense if she was part of a conspiracy, McIlvoy answered “No.” She also testified that she had no knowledge of Houck being involved with a conspiracy. On cross examination, the prosecution asked McIlvoy about the secret recordings she made of her grand jury testimony. She testified that at the time she was not aware of what the grand jury was, and wanted a record of what she said so her words couldn’t be later used against her.
University of Louisville Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering Adrian Lauf was called to testify as an expert in cell phone analysis. Lauf testified that data from NELOS, the location data system AT&T uses for devices on its network, is consistent with Steven Lawson’s phone being on Boston Road, and he testified that the Bluegrass Parkway is too far from the towers the data indicates the phone connected to. During cross examination, Special Prosecutor Shane Young questioned Lauf’s data, indicating at least one inaccuracy in his report and noting testimony Lauf made in a previous case in which he questioned the reliability of NELOS. Lauf testified that he reviews data he is presented with on a case-by-case basis.
The defense will continue its case Thursday. Nelson Circuit Judge Charles Simms III told the jury he believes closing statements and jury instructions will be delivered Monday, with jury deliberations beginning Tuesday.
The Kentucky Attorney General’s Office says no credible violations were discovered in the 2024 General Election.
The Attorney General’s office on Tuesday announced the completion of the 12 required county inquiries following the 2024 General Election. Kentucky law requires the AG’s office to conduct independent inquiries in 12 randomly selected counties following an election.
According to a release from the AG’s office, no credible election law violations were found by detectives with the Kentucky Attorney General’s Department of Criminal Investigations. Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said in a letter to the Kentucky State Board of Elections: “I’d like to thank all of the county clerks, poll workers, and volunteers who made it possible for Kentuckians to exercise one of our most fundamental rights.”
The AG’s office activates the Election Integrity Command Center and increases staffing for the Election Fraud Hotline ahead of each Kentucky election. The AG’s office says during the 2024 General Election cycle the hotline received more than 700 messages. Two came from Breckinridge County, five from Bullitt, one from Grayson, seven from Hardin, one from Hart, two from LaRue, three from Meade, and six from Nelson. Visit the Attorney General’s office’s website for more information.