The man convicted in connection with the disappearance and presumed death of Bardstown mother Crystal Rogers will soon learn where he will serve his life sentence.
Brooks Houck, 43, who a jury found guilty in July of murder—principal or accomplice—and evidence tampering, was transferred Monday to the Kentucky Department of Corrections Assessment and Classification Center at the Roederer Correctional Complex in La Grange.
Prosecutors said Houck, Rogers’ ex-boyfriend, acted out of fear that he would lose custody of their then 2-year-old son. Rogers, a 35-year-old mother of five, was reported missing by her mother, Sherry Ballard, in early July 2015. Authorities have never found her, and investigators believe she was murdered.
The case has drawn national attention over the years as law enforcement continued searching for Rogers’ remains. It took a troubling turn months after her disappearance when her father, Tommy Ballard, died in what police described as a “hunting incident.” Family members believe Ballard was close to identifying those responsible for his daughter’s death, and his case remains an open investigation.
In September, a Nelson Circuit judge sentenced Houck to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years for his role in Rogers’ disappearance. Codefendant Joseph Lawson, 34, received a 25-year sentence on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and evidence tampering, with parole eligibility after just over 21 years.
Nelson Circuit Court Judge Charles Simms III presided over Houck’s arraignment at the Nelson County Courthouse in Bardstown on Oct. 5, 2023.
Steven Lawson, 51, the father of Joseph Lawson, was also convicted in a separate trial of conspiracy to commit murder and evidence tampering. A judge sentenced him in August to 17 years in prison.
Houck is appealing his conviction to the Kentucky Supreme Court.
With the exception of death-row inmates, Kentucky transfers all newly sentenced male prisoners to the Roederer facility for assessment. Officials evaluate inmates for security risk, needs and behavior before assigning them to one of the state’s 14 adult prisons.
This marks the second time Houck has been moved to Oldham County since his arrest in 2023, eight years after investigators named him the sole suspect in Rogers’ disappearance. Authorities initially held him in Hardin County on a $10 million bond before transferring him to the Oldham County Detention Center to await trial.
After his conviction, officials moved Houck to the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center in Eastern Kentucky, where he remained until this latest transfer.
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