LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Stephen Lawson of Nelson County, Kentucky is sitting in a Harrison County, Indiana jail facing a pair of charges.

What You Need To Know

  • Stephen Lawson is indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and evidence tampering

  • He is accused of crimes happening on July 3 and/or July 4, 2015 in Nelson County

  • Crystal Rogers disappeared July 3, 2015

  • No agencies are formally connecting Lawson to the Rogers' case

A newly unsealed document from the Nelson County Circuit Court says Lawson is charged with tampering with physical evidence and conspiracy to commit murder.

The court documents accuse Lawson, 53, of the committing the crimes on July 3, 2015 and/or July 4 of that year in Nelson County.

Crystal Rogers disappeared from her Bardstown home, in Nelson County on July 3, 2015.

No official agency investigating Rogers’ case has publicly commented on whether Lawson’s charges are connected to her murder.

On Wednesday, Dec. 6, FBI and other agencies were searching an area north of Bardstown near Thompson Hill Road, which is between Bardstown and Mount Washington.

Hardin County Commonwealth’s Attorney, Shane Young, told Spectrum News 1, the search was related to one of three high-profile cases in Bardstown. The search was related either to Rogers’ case, the murder of her father, Tommy Ballard or the murder of Bardstown police officer Jason Ellis.

Wednesday’s search was the first confirmation on an FBI search in Nelson County since Brooks Houck was arrested. Houck, Rogers’ boyfriend at the time of her disappearance, is charged with murder in her case.

Another man, Joseph Lawson, is also charged in the Rogers’ case.

The 32-year-old is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence. It is uncertain if the two Lawson men share any connection.