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One of three men charged in Crystal Rogers’ death appears in court; What happened

Steve Lawson was arrested on Dec. 8, 2023. His son, Joseph Lawson, is also charged in connection to Crystal's death.

BARDSTOWN, Ky. — One of the men charged in connection to the disappearance of Crystal Rogers appeared in court once again Thursday afternoon.

Steve Lawson is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence in connection to the Bardstown mother’s 2015 disappearance. Crystal has been presumed dead for the last eight years.

WHAS11 Senior Reporter Isaiah Kim-Martinez was in the courtroom for the hearing, which began at 2:30 p.m. and wrapped up in roughly 20 minutes.

RECAP: Here's what happened during Steve Lawson's bond hearing

Scroll below for the minute-by-minute court updates.

TIMELINE | Disappearance of Crystal Rogers; In-depth look at the years-long investigation

Live Updates

3:25 p.m.

Ted Lavit spoke with reporters outside the courtroom following the brief hearing.

He reiterated the Lawson has been cooperating with authorities in exchange for transactional immunity. 

2:51 p.m.

Twenty minutes into the hearing, Nelson County Judge Charles Simms decided that he will need to take more time to determine if Lawson's bond should be reduced. He said a ruling could come within five days.

Court has ended for the day. 

Steve Lawson's son, Joseph Lawson will be in court for a similar hearing tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. 

Credit: Isaiah Kim-Martinez, WHAS11 News
Attorneys stand to exit the Nelson County courtroom. A judge will take five days to determined if Steve Lawson's bond will be reduced. | Jan. 5, 2024

2:50 p.m.

Young agrees that Steve Lawson isn't necessarily a flight risk, but again, reiterates that the bond matches the seriousness of the charges and the probable cause that was presented to the grand jury which chose to indict him.

2:48 p.m.

Special Prosecutor Shane Young is now arguing against the bond reduction. He said considering the charges, $500,000 is appropriate.

2:47 p.m.

Lavit is asking for Lawson's $500,000 bond be reduced to $20,000. Alternatively, he offered a $40,000 real estate bond.

2:46 p.m.

"[Police] had their way with my client," Lavit said. "They had their time with my client. And we stayed until the end every time."

2:40 p.m.

Crystal's mother, Sherry, can be heard crying in the courtroom. Crystal's daughter, Tori, is comforting her.

2:38 p.m.

His attorney said Lawson has been a person of interest and "target" in this case since 2015.

"He has had something to say, and he said it," Lavit argued. He also said Lawson should not be, and won't be a flight risk.

Credit: Isaiah Kim-Martinez, WHAS11 News
Attorney Ted Lavit argues to reduce Steve Lawson's $500,000 bond. | Jan. 4, 2024

2:36 p.m.

Lavit said Lawson has been cooperative with authorities on agreeing to provide testimony on the case.

"Extensive amount of contact," Lavit says, has been made between both parties -- both with and without counsel.

"It's not in the best interest to Mr. Lawson to go before you and testify what's in the discovery," he said, adding that it "could be part of the evidence deduced at this trial."

The defense wants the judge to reduce the bond.

2:32 p.m.

Steve Lawson has been escorted into the courtroom. He's being held on a $500,000 bond. The hearing is about to get underway. 

During his arraignment last December, Lavit said he has documents proving Lawson made a deal with the authorities for his cooperation and testimony, promising immunity.

That immunity could be a point of discussion during today's hearing.

Credit: Isaiah Kim-Martinez, WHAS11 News
Steve Lawson sits beside his attorney, Ted Lavit, for a bond reduction hearing. | Jan. 4, 2024

2:28 p.m.

Steve Lawson's attorney, Ted Lavit, has arrived.

Credit: Isaiah Kim-Martinez, WHAS11 News
The Ballard Family sits behind Steve Lawson's attorney, Ted Lavit, during a bond reduction hearing. | Jan. 4, 2024

2:15 p.m.

Special Prosecutor Shane Young has entered the courtroom.

The prosecution has all taken their seat. Still waiting on Lawson and his defense.

Credit: Isaiah Kim-Martinez, WHAS11 News
Special Prosecutor Shane Young and the rest of his team wait for Steve Lawson's bond hearing to begin. | Jan. 4, 2024

2:13 p.m.

Sherry Ballard, Tori and other family members sit front row as they wait for the bond reduction hearing to begin.

Credit: Isaiah Kim-Martinez, WHAS11 News
Sherry Ballard and members of Crystal's family sit front row for Steve Lawson's bond hearing. | Jan. 4, 2024

2:08 p.m.

Media and attendees being let into the courtroom.

Credit: Isaiah Kim-Martinez, WHAS11 News
Media and attendees enter the Nelson County courtroom for Steve Lawson's bond reduction hearing. | Jan. 4, 2024

2:03 p.m.

One of Crystal's daughters, Tori, is also in attendance alongside her grandmother.

WHAS11 last spoke to Tori in 2022. At the time, her mother had been missing for seven years.

“I feel like she was just here yesterday, but at the same time, it feels like I haven’t seen her in a long time,” she said then. “I feel like a big hole has been left in my heart, where she should be. Not knowing where she's at is really what impacts me the most."

Credit: Isaiah Kim-Martinez, WHAS11 News
Crystal's daughter, Tori, stand with Sherry Ballard waiting to be let into the Nelson County courtroom for Steve Lawson's hearing. | Jan. 4, 2024

1:51 p.m.

Steve Lawson's bond reduction hearing will take place in courtroom A at the Nelson County Justice Center in Bardstown.

The courtroom has yet to open, but Crystal Rogers' mother, Sherry Ballard, has already arrived.

Lawson's  hearing begins at 2:30 p.m.

What to expect?

Thursday’s court appearance is for a bond reduction hearing. Lawson is currently being held on a $500,000 bond at the Nelson County Jail.

During his arraignment last December, Lawson’s attorney, Ted Lavit, said he has documents proving his client made a deal with the authorities for his cooperation and testimony, promising immunity.

That immunity could be a point of discussion during Thursday’s hearing.

Credit: WHAS11 News
Three men are charged in connection to Crystal Rogers' disappearance: Joseph Lawson (left), Brooks Houck (middle) and Steve Lawson (right).

Case Background

Lawson’s charges stem from an incident over the Fourth of July weekend in 2015, the same weekend Crystal reportedly went missing. His son, and co-defendant, Joseph Lawson is facing similar charges.

Attorney Ted Lavit continues to assert the Steve Lawson doesn’t know anything about Rogers’ death.

He said his client's only connection to the case is his connection to Rogers' car, which was found abandoned on the Bluegrass Parkway days after she went missing.

Lavit said Lawson received a call from his son about having a flat tire and needed to be picked up, adding that it was Joseph Lawson who drove Rogers' car to the Bluegrass Parkway. He said he doesn't know why Joseph Lawson had her car or where he was going.

But this isn’t the first time we’ve heard about Steve Lawson in Rogers’ case.

Lawson was mentioned in one of the very first police interviews between Nelson County Detective Jon Snow and the main suspect in Rogers' disappearance, Brooks Houck.

During this interrogation, Houck called Lawson for details and claimed that the call was related to rental properties. Houck told detectives that he'd had to call Crystal about that question, which raised red flags for detectives.

Snow said the call between Lawson and Houck was unusual.

Joseph Lawson is expected to be in court on Friday, Jan. 5. WHAS11 will be in the courtroom for that hearing as well.

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