LOUISVILLE, Ky. — One of the men charged in the death of Crystal Rogers hopes to separate his trial from Brooks Houck, but the state argued their cases should stay joined.
Joseph Lawson's attorneys filed a motion in October saying it's unlikely he could receive a fair trial unless the trials are separated, particularly due to an "overflow of evidence" in Houck's case.
Houck is charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence, while Lawson is charged with complicity to murder and tampering with physical evidence.
Lawson's attorneys argued the bulk of the more than one terabyte’s worth of evidence in Rogers’ case is “irrelevant” to Lawson, calling it a "gross disparity of evidence" between the two men.
They also argued media coverage of Rogers’ disappearance would negatively influence a jury.
In court documents filed on Monday prosecutors argued, if instructed to do so, juries can consider only the relevant evidence for each person in joined cases.
They also said any evidence that could be used in a joint trial would be used in a separate trial as well.
When is Crystal Rogers' trial?
The trial is expected to begin in Warren County next February.
Attorneys are already starting to figure out logistics, like hotel bookings. Judge Charles Simms emphasized he wants all the defendants and their lawyers to stay in different hotels.
"I don't want anything spilling over every night from this trial," he said.
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