WQXE News

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

Jim Lesousky asked the jury in the opening statement for the Commonwealth to use their “god-given common sense” as they heard the testimony and reviewed the evidence, which he said would show that Crystal Rogers died on July 3 or 4, 2015, “at the hands of a cruel murder.” Lesousky highlighted elements of evidence that will be presented which he says will show the conspiracy that was created by the Houck family to get rid of Rogers, including cellular location data and discrepancies in Houck’s police interviews.

Lesousky said testimony from friends of Rogers will show she was preparing for a kid-free romantic evening on July 3, but they instead went to the Houck family farm, and “what happens there, we believe, she’s lost and dies.”

Houck’s defense attorney Steve Schroeing said in his opening statement that pressure from the Ballard family on local law enforcement combined with the nationwide publicity the case generated caused investigators to replace facts and truths with “suspicions, assumptions, theories, and guesses.” Schroering said the results of the investigations by the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office, in which he said Detective Jon Snow made the case “his life”, and the investigation led by the FBI, which he said was a “massive undertaking” with “mountains of resources” both resulted in no sign of Rogers’s body, no evidence of murder, no murder weapon, and no eyewitnesses. He also asked the jury to use their “common sense” when looking at the facts and evidence, which he says will destroy the prosecution’s theories on the case.

The prosecution then called its first witness: Rogers’s daughter Kyleigh Fenwick who was 14 at the time of the disappearance. Fenwick testified that her relationship with Houck was initially good, with Houck discussing adopting Fenwick. She testified things “got rough” at home once Eli was born, with Houck moving Fenwick and her sister to the basement in order for Eli to have his own room.

Rogers’s friend Christina Holly and Cousin Amanda Greenwell testified on interactions they had with Rogers on July 3, 2015, with both women stating that Rogers said to them she and Houck were going to have a kids-free evening. 

Detective Jon Snow, who as a detective with the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office was the lead investigator on the case from 2015 to 2019, was the final witness on the stand Wednesday. He testified on the initial actions in the investigations, including processing Rogers’s car, the first interview with Houck, and the first search of the Houck family farm. Surveillance video was submitted as evidence that showed it was raining on July 3, and showed Houck’s truck going to and from the farm. Snow testified that the times the truck is seen is mostly consistent with Houck’s story.

Snow will return to the stand when the trial resumes Thursday morning.

An escapee in Madison County the Kentucky State Police is currently searching for has local ties. 

Troopers are currently searching for 28-year-old Jarod Ryan Barnes, who KSP Post Seven Public Affairs Officer Trooper Justin Kearney says walked away from the Bluegrass Career and Development Center in Richmond just before 6:45 p.m. on Sunday.

The KSP says Barnes is serving a sentence for multiple charges including second degree Engaging in Organized Crime-Criminal Syndicate and first degree Trafficking in a Controlled Substance. According to the KSP, Barnes is from Elizabethtown and “Barnes is known to frequent Elizabethtown, Jefferson, Hardin, and surrounding counties.”

Barnes is described as a black male with black hair and brown eyes. He is five feet nine inches tall and weighs 206 pounds. He was last seen wearing a white tank top, black sweatpants, and white tennis shoes, and has several tattoos on his chest and arms.

Anybody with possible information on Barnes’s whereabouts is asked to contact KSP Post Seven at 859-623-2404.

(Photo Credit: KSP Post 7)

Elizabethtown Police Chief Jeremy Thompson says with the area experiencing growth from developments such as BlueOval SK, the EPD knew it would need to match that growth, and that growth has been a reflection of the trust the city council and the community have in the department.

“We were voted one of the safest cities in the United States a few years back,” Thompson said. “We didn’t stop there and just say ‘well, that’s in the past.’ We want to continue to provide that same level, if not a higher level, of safety and security for our citizens, and again, if not for the trust that you all have in us, the trust that the community has in us, we can’t accomplish these things.”

Thompson provided an update on the EPD to the Elizabethtown City Council during their work session Monday afternoon. He said over the last eighteen months the department has added 38 positions, which in addition to increased efficiency has allowed the city to keep a step ahead of challenges that come with growth.

“Many cities that have experienced population growth, percentage wise, have had to reduce police services, fire services, because they can’t keep up with the growth because they’ve not been investing in personnel,” Thompson said. “We haven’t had to do that. As a matter of fact, we are building, we are adding on to the services we provide.”

Thompson credited department plans formed with the city and the support of the city council for making the strides the department has made possible. Elizabethtown Mayor Jeff Gregory said people living in a community want to feel safe, so supporting first responders is a priority.

“We do take pride in investing in our PD and our fire department, not only for those reasons, but because we want to make sure that you all have all the tools that you need to do the job that you do, because it is very tough,” Gregory said. “I did it for a long time.”

Data provided by Thompson says the EPD has responded to 15,663 calls in 2025. The department has responded to 452 collisions so far this year, which is trending lower than the 1,284 responded to in 2024.