BARDSTOWN, Ky. — The attorneys for one of the three men charged with the disappearance of Crystal Rogers filed a motion Thursday to transfer the venue of his case. 

The motion said Brooks Houck, who is accused of murdering Rogers and tampering with evidence surrounding her disappearance, cannot get a fair and impartial trial in Nelson County. It requests to move the venue to a neutral county due to the amount of pretrial publicity the case has received. 

Houck’s defense said local law enforcement’s decision to release his police interview has resulted in “over eight years of media sensationalism that has increased exponentially with the passage of time,” thus making him a “pariah” in Nelson and surrounding counties. This has also tainted jury pools within the Louisville and Lexington media markets, it added. 

In addition, his attorneys argue he has been negatively affected by the coverage surrounding his brother, Nick Houck, who is the primary suspect of the murder of Tommy Ballard. It requests the trial gets moved to Boyd or Daviess County.  

Houck was Rogers’ boyfriend in July 2015, the time of the presumed murder. He has fully cooperated with law enforcement and has submitted to multiple interviews with the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office, in which he has denied any involvement with Rogers’ disappearance, the defense said. 

Two others, Stephen and Joseph Lawson, have also been accused of Rogers’ death. The trial is set for Feb. 10, 2025. 

Houck’s motion will be heard Thursday, March 21 at 1 p.m. in the Nelson Circuit Court.