FBI searched the family farm of Brooks Houck, suspected in the disappearance of Crystal Rogers, for evidence in October 2022. Inset left top: Houck after his arrest on Sept. 27, 2023 (via Hardin County (Ky.) Detention Center). Inset left bottom: Joseph Lawson (YouTube screengrab/WHAS). Inset right: Crystal Rogers, who went missing in 2015 (FBI).
The boyfriend of a Kentucky mother of five who went missing in 2015 — long thought to be responsible for the woman's death — has been arrested and reportedly charged with her murder.
Brooks Houck, 41, was arrested in connection with the disappearance of Crystal Rogers, 35, and was taken into custody without incident, FBI officials in Louisville announced Wednesday. Houck, the father of Rogers' youngest child and her boyfriend at the time of her disappearance, is believed to have been the last person to see her alive. She has never been found and is presumed dead.
"In coordination with the Kentucky State Police, other local and federal law enforcement partners, FBI Louisville has been laser-focused on our commitment to hold accountable those that were responsible for the disappearance of Crystal Rogers," the FBI announcement said. "Today, we take a significant step in making good on that promise."
Houck has been charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence and is being held on $10 million bail, the Louisville Courier Journal reported.
The FBI said that Houck's indictment will remain sealed and that additional details will be revealed when he is arraigned in Nelson County Circuit Court. Online court records indicate that his arraignment has been scheduled for Oct. 5.
FBI Louisville and @kystatepolice announce the arrest of Brooks Houck as a result of the investigation into the disappearance of Crystal Rogers. pic.twitter.com/uc4NnKjth7
— FBI Louisville (@FBILouisville) September 27, 2023
The same announcement was posted to the Kentucky State Police website.
Rogers was reported missing on July 5, 2015, by her mother, two days after last being seen. Her car was found abandoned with a flat tire and her keys, phone, and purse still inside.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Joseph Lawson pleaded not guilty earlier this month to criminal conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence in Rogers' death. It was the first indictment in the case of Rogers' disappearance.
