She Went Missing in 2015 — Now Her Ex Is Guilty, and Her Dad’s Mysterious Death Is Back in the Spotlight

More than a decade after her 2015 disappearance, a jury has found a Kentucky mother’s then-boyfriend guilty of her murder — renewing questions surrounding a second mystery that has long haunted the case.

On July 8, Brooks Houck, 43, was convicted of murder as a principal or accomplice to the crime and complicity to tampering with physical evidence in connection with the presumed death of Crystal Rogers, The Courier-Journal reported. Joseph Lawson, Houck’s accomplice, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence.

Rogers, a 35-year-old mother of five, vanished overnight on July 3, 2015, when she was last seen by her boyfriend, Houck, at his family farm, PEOPLE previously reported. Houck told police at the time that the couple — who share one son — had gone to bed together, but when he awoke, she was gone.

While Roger’s remains have not been found, prosecutors found enough evidence to file charges against Houck and Lawson, both of whom were arrested in late 2023. Lawson’s father, Steven Lawson, was also convicted on charges related to Roger’s disappearance in a separate trial, the Courier-Journal reported.

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Prosecutors said it’s unclear which man killed Rogers but argued they did work together to plan and cover up the disappearance and killing, Court TV reported. According to prosecutors, digital evidence showed Houck lied multiple times about his whereabouts on the day Rogers vanished, per the outlet.

Additionally, prosecutors claimed that Joseph Lawson drove Rogers’ car – which was later found abandoned by police — until it got a flat tire and that his father, Steven Lawson, picked him up that night, the Courier-Journal reported. Witnesses also reportedly heard the father and son talking about the crime.

“This was premeditated murder,” Prosecutor Shane Young said in court, per the Courier-Journal. “They planned to kill her — to get rid of her — and make it look like she just left.”

During the trial, defense teams argued there was no physical evidence connecting Houck and Joseph to the crime. According to the Courier-Journal, defense attorneys claimed digital evidence from Steven’s phone showed the father and son were not on the road where Rogers’ car was later found on the night she vanished.

In a statement shared after the convictions, Rogers’ oldest daughter told WHAS 11 that “It’s not fair, it’s not fair what they did. Not at all.”

“She would have loved my kids,” the daughter added, per the outlet. “She was a great mom and she did not deserve what happened to her.”

The jury’s recommended sentence for Houck was life in prison and 25 years for Joseph, per the Courier-Journal and CourtTV. Their sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 21. According to reports, Steven’s sentence is expected to be handed down on Aug. 6.

While this part of the case is over, questions still remain surrounding the death of Rogers’ father, Tommy Ballard, whose wife, Sherry Ballard, told PEOPLE in 2020 that he had never stopped searching for his daughter.

On Nov. 19, 2016, Ballard was shot and killed by a single bullet that struck his chest while preparing for a hunting trip with his 12-year-old grandson in Bardstown, Ky., according to an FBI poster. 

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No one has ever been charged in connection with the shooting but Young noted in court that the deaths may be related, WDRB reported. “We are waiting for testing to come back on the gun that we believe was used to murder Tommy Ballard,” Young said, per the outlet.

The FBI Louisville office is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest or conviction in Ballard’s murder case.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.