LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A breakthrough in the eight-year-old disappearance of Crystal Rogers. Joseph Lee Lawson is charged in connection with her death.
What You Need To Know
- Joseph Lawson is charged in connection with the disappearance of Crystal Rogers
- Rogers disappeared in July, 2015
- Lawson is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with evidence
Lawson, 32, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence. According to court records, Lawson was charged with tampering in June and murder in July. The court ordered both records to be sealed.
His attorney, Kevin Coleman, confirmed to Spectrum News 1 the charges are connected to Rogers’ disappearance.
Court records show Lawson was arraigned in Nelson Circuit Court, Thursday, Sept. 7. He pleaded not guilty to both charges. He is being held in the Grayson County Jail and is due back in court on Oct. 26.
Lawson has a criminal history. Since 2009, he has had 18 charges against him ranging from traffic violations to misdemeanors. The charges are based in Marion, Nelson, Spencer and Washington counties. Twelve of the 18 charges have occurred since 2018.
Rogers was reported missing by her mother, Sherry Ballard, on July 5, 2015. Her car was found abandoned with a flat tire at mile marker 14 on the Bluegrass Parkway in Bardstown. Rogers’ keys, phone and purse are still inside the red Chevrolet Impala.
Her body has never been found.
Brooks Hauck, Rogers’ boyfriend at the time of her disappearance and the father of her youngest child, is the only person ever publicly named as a suspect in her disappearance. Hauck has never been charged.
Investigators have searched properties belonging to Hauck and his family multiple times over the years.
Last fall, the FBI said evidence found in connection to the Crystal Rogers’ case was being sent to the agency’s lab in Quantico, Virginia.