BARDSTOWN, Ky. — Two men charged in the death of Crystal Rogers appeared in a Nelson County courtroom Friday hoping to keep their upcoming trials separate.
Father-and-son duo Steven and Joseph Lawson are both charged with conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence in the Bardstown mother's death. A third man, Rogers' ex-boyfriend Brooks Houck, is charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence.
The hearing began with an update from Steven Lawson's attorneys saying Ted Lavit, his former attorney, has since turned over remaining evidence in the Rogers' case. Lavit was accused of not turning everything over at a hearing earlier this month.
Judge Charles Simms then took up the motion from Joseph Lawson's attorneys regarding splitting his trial from the others.
Last week, Joseph Lawson's attorneys filed a motion 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.
They argue the bulk of the more than one terabyte’s worth of evidence in Rogers’ case is “irrelevant” to Lawson's case, calling it a "gross disparity of evidence" between the two men.
Joseph Lawson's attorneys also argue media coverage of Rogers’ disappearance would negatively influence a jury.
“[Jurors] would be influenced by the preconceived notions and biases created by Brooks Houck’s case,” attorneys wrote in the motion, “Which would inevitably influence their assessment of Joseph Lawson’s case.”
Simms did not issue a ruling on whether to separate the trials, however Special Prosecutor Shane Young has filed a response to Lawson's motion.
New discovery found
Young also told the judge his office needs another two weeks to finish reviewing discovery turned over by the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office.
He said after the indictment in October, the U.S Attorney's Office found additional discovery and gave it to prosecutors on a 10 terabyte hard drive. Young said the files had different names than what's already been sent, but the majority of the discovery has already been turned over. However, some of the evidence is new.
"It's been very tedious," Young said. "We were advised that we had everything when we indicted the case and subsequently I think they went back and looked and some stuff had been filed in an unusual place on wherever their server is, so we're just going through and making sure that everything lines up."
He told the judge he doesn't expect there to be any more discovery, "unless somebody finds something."
Young added that "not much" has come out of recent searches in Bardstown either.
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. 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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