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Trial in Crystal Rogers case could be delayed

A February trial for the suspects in the Crystal Rogers case may not be possible, new attorneys say. Darren Wolff of Louisville and Zach Buckler, a Lexington attorney, said they were only hired to represent Steven Lawson 48 hours before their court date Thursday. The two were contracted by the Department of Public Advocacy. Lawson had fired his previous defense team earlier this month. Read more here. The new attorneys received a hard drive with two terabytes of evidence from the prosecution just minutes before the trial began. “I don't think this should surprise anyone, we were literally just hired on this matter. We received two terabytes of information, which is clearly more than most cases,” Wolff told the judge. Wolff said he probably won't be ready to go to trial in February. “I think it would be important to at least inform the court. I'm not 100 percent sure we'll be ready to try the case in the time frame that the court has allotted,” Wolff said. Judge Charles Simms, noting how long the defendants had already been incarcerated, said he still wanted to push for the February trial. Rogers' relatives said they were disappointed to learn the case could be delayed. Lawson and his attorneys return to court on Oct. 4, and a decision on consolidating the cases will likely be made then. Where the trial will take place has not yet been decided. Because of the publicity surrounding the pretrial, Simms granted a motion to change venue earlier this year. Background: Crystal Rogers, a mother of five, was last seen alive on July 3, 2015. Her car was found two days later on Bluegrass Parkway, with her keys, phone and purse inside. No one was charged in connection with the case until September 2023, when Joseph Lawson was charged with conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to tamper with evidence. Brooks Houck was also indicted in September 2023 and charged with murder and tampering with evidence. Subsequently, Steve Lawson was charged with conspiracy to commit murder in that case. All three men later argued that their cases should be tried outside of Nelson County, which a judge agreed to in April 2024. The three suspects have also requested to be tried separately, but the judge has not yet ruled on that.

BARDSTOWN, Kentucky —

According to the case's new attorneys, a trial for the suspects in the Crystal Rogers case may not be possible in February.

Darren Wolff of Louisville and Zach Buckler, a lawyer from Lexington, said they were hired to represent Steven Lawson just 48 hours before his court date Thursday. The pair were contracted by the Department of Public Advocacy.

Lawson fired his previous defense team earlier this month. Read more here.

The new lawyers received a hard drive with two terabytes of evidence from the public prosecutor a few minutes before the start of the trial.

“I don't think this should come as a surprise to anyone, we have only just been entrusted with this case. We have been given two terabytes of information, which is clearly more than in most cases,” Wolff told the judge.

Wolff said he probably won't be ready to go to trial in February.

“I think it would be important to at least inform the court. I'm not 100 percent sure that we will be ready to hear the case in the time frame the court has allotted,” Wolff said.

Judge Charles Simms, taking into account the length of the defendants' prison sentences, said he still wanted to push for the February trial. Rogers' relatives said they were disappointed to learn the trial could be delayed.

Lawson and his lawyers will return to court on October 4, and a decision on whether to consolidate the cases will likely be made then. Where the trial will take place has not yet been decided. Due to the publicity surrounding the case beforehand, Simms granted a motion to change venue earlier this year.

background

Crystal Rogers, a mother of five, was last seen alive on July 3, 2015. Her car was found two days later on the Bluegrass Parkway with her keys, phone and purse still inside.

No one was charged in the case until September 2023, when Joseph Lawson was charged with conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with evidence.

Brooks Houck was also indicted in September 2023 and charged with murder and evidence tampering.

Steve Lawson was subsequently charged with conspiracy to commit murder in this case.

All three men later argued that their cases should be tried outside of Nelson County, which a judge accepted in April 2024.

The three suspects have also requested to be tried separately, but the judge has not yet made a decision on this.

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