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The man convicted of Crystal Rogers’s murder will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

During a sentencing hearing at the Nelson County Justice Center Wednesday, Nelson Circuit Judge Charles Simms III sentenced Brooks Houck to a term of life in prison for the charge of Murder – Principal or Accomplice, and five years for the charge of Tampering with Physical Evidence, with the terms to be served concurrently.

Simms also sentenced Joseph Lawson to a term of 20 years in prison for the charge of Conspiracy to Commit Murder and five years for the charge of Tampering with Physical Evidence, with the terms to be served consecutively.

Those sentences are in line with the recommendations of the Warren County jury that convicted Houck and Lawson on July 8, with the exception of Houck’s concurrent terms. Simms noted that Kentucky law does not permit consecutive sentences when a life sentence is issued. Simms also noted that while several people who spoke during the hearing requested a life sentence without the possibility of parole, that is also not permitted under Kentucky law.

Several members of the Ballard family spoke during the hearing. Among the speakers was Rogers’s daughter Kyleigh Fenwick. She addressed Houck directly, stating “You never cared about anybody but yourself. You say you love Eli so much, but if you really loved him you wouldn’t have murdered his mother. You wouldn’t have took him from his siblings. I babysat him all the time, even when you were home. I watched him, and you just ripped him away from us, just like you did our mom.”

Rogers’s mother Sherry Ballard said Houck underestimated the love she and her husband had for their daughter. Ballard said: “For 10 years, I have suffered the pain of losing my daughter. Never once have I seen you shed one tear. Never once have I heard you say you worried about where she was or what might have happened to her. You sat there worried more about your family’s name than the woman you shared a child with, that you supposedly cared about.”

Prior to sentencing, Simms reminded Houck and Lawson of their rights to an appeal. Simms also granted Lawson’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis, which allows Lawson to continue to be represented by a public defender.

A Kentucky veteran declared killed in action during the Vietnam War will be laid to rest this week.

The Kentucky State Police will provide an escort for the remains of U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Henry Gerald Gish, who will be laid to rest in the Berea Cemetery on Saturday, September 20.

According to the KSP, Gish’s remains will arrive at Louisville Muhammed Ali International Airport Thursday morning. Troopers from KSP Posts Four, Seven, and Eleven will join together to lead the escort to Berea, where Gish will be buried with full military honors.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency says Gish was assigned to a classified radar site in Laos, and on March 11, 1968, his position was attacked and overrun by Vietnamese commandos, forcing them to seek safety on the narrow edge of a steep mountain. Helicopters rescued eight men, but Gish and 10 other Americans were declared killed in action and were unable to be recovered.

After efforts over many years to survey the area, Gish’s remains were recovered as part of two joint recovery operations between mid-January and late March of this year. Gish’s remains were identified in a DPAA laboratory following scientific analysis.

More information on Gish can be found in his obituary from Lakes Funeral Home in Berea and from the DPAA.