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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.

The jury has been selected for the joint trial of Crystal Rogers investigation suspects Brooks Houck and Joseph Lawson.

15 jurors were selected from an initial pool of 132 at the Warren County Justice Center Tuesday for the trial. Those 15 jurors will be presented with the witness testimony and evidence presented at the trial, after which 12 jurors will deliberate.

Nelson Circuit Judge Charles Simms III began the day by reviewing some of the background information on the case, including the indictments against Houck and Lawson. The potential jurors were then given a questionnaire that separated them into four groups: those who had never heard of the case, those who had heard of the case but didn’t know specifics, those who knew about the case and some specifics but didn’t have an opinion, and those who knew of the case and specifics and had formed an opinion. Jurors in the middle two groups were then questioned by the judge, prosecution, and defense on their knowledge of the case, with several jurors who either had knowledge of the trial of Steven Lawson or had seen coverage of the investigation including podcasts and documentaries excused. After the pool was narrowed down to 39 jurors, additional jurors were removed following questions from the prosecution and defense, and the 15 jurors for the trial were randomly selected from the remaining pool.

Simms said in his initial introduction to the jury that the trial was expected to last 10 days, which would take it to July 8. More than 50 potential witnesses who may be called were named by the prosecution and defense.

Houck is charged with Murder and Tampering with Physical Evidence. Lawson is charged with Conspiracy to Commit Murder and Tampering with Physical Evidence. The trial will begin with opening statements Wednesday morning.