NELSON COUNTY, KY. (WHAS11) – Brooks Houck appeared in front of a judge in Nelson County to ask for change in venue in his theft case. He wants the judge to move his trial away from his hometown, where most everyone knows his name.
Houck is facing multiple theft charges after police say he stole thousands of dollars’ worth of shingles from Lowe’s in Bardstown.
"I don't really have a particular county in mind, I just don't know that if we're anywhere near Bardstown that Mr. Houck can get a fair trial,” Houck’s attorney Brian Butler, said to the judge.
Butler called the media coverage of his client's case a "three ring circus.”
He said, "It’s not just publicity. It’s completely negative. It’s not just that his names been publicized, he's been identified by law enforcement as the suspect in another case."
That is the case of Crystal Rogers. She is a mother of five who disappeared in 2015, and Houck is her former boyfriend.
That's why Rogers’ family filled the back row of the courtroom today, even though the cases aren't at all connected.
Til Ballard, Rogers’ grandfather, said, "There's no forgiveness here. I'm a catholic but there's no forgiveness here."
Houck has never been charged in Crystal's case.
Ballard said, "If he's guilty of stealing, whatever they do, that's none of my business. What is my business is finding where Crystal is. That's what we want. We want to find Crystal and who murdered Tommy."
Ballard said his focus is still on finding answers for his family.
As for Houck and his Nelson County cases, the answer is in the hands of the judge.
Butler suggested Clark County, Indiana, which is north of the Ohio River, or Metcalfe County, Kentucky, which is about 70 miles south of Bardstown.
Nelson County Prosecutor Terry Geoghegan said, "The issue of judicial economy, the issue of travel and everyone who is concerned for the parties traveling for the witnesses, that has to be taken into consideration."
The judge said he will make a final decision on the move, and to where, at the end of January.