Crystal Rogers case co-defendant joins Houck in request to change venue

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Sunday, March 10, 2024 — A second defendant in the Crystal Rogers murder case has filed for a change of venue.

Stephen Eugene Lawson, 53, through his attorney, Ted H. Lavitt, filed to for a change of venue following a change of venue request from Brooks Houck earlier in the week.

Lawson joined Houck’s request to move his case out of Nelson County to either Boyd or Daviess counties. Boyd County is three hours away from Bardstown, and their main TV stations are based in West Virginia. Daviess County is two hours away and outside the Louisville media market.

Houck and Lawson say they will be unable to get a fair trial in Nelson County.

Houck, Lawson, and Lawson’s son, Joseph Lawson, are the three men charged in Rogers’ death. Their tentative trial date is February 2025.

WANTS CHARGES DISMISSED. Last Wednesday, Steve Lawson’s attorney filed a request to have all the charges against his client dismissed and all of his statements to investigators excluded from the case.

The motion includes excerpts of conversations between Lawson and investigators that purport to show Lawson was promised immunity a number of times during his conversations with authorities.

The investigators make it clear that Lawson’s statements had to be honest and truthful in order for authorities to grant him full immunity.

The motion includes testimony excerpts from police interviews where the prosecutor “made it clear” Lawson’s statements could not be used against him. Now the attorney either wants the charges dismissed, or his testimony excluded from the case.

NEXT UP. Lawson’s motion for the change in venue and to dismiss the charges will be heard at his next appearance in Nelson Circuit Court at 1 p.m. Thursday, March 21, 2024.

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