Rodgers, mother of 5, has not been found and is presumed dead
The FBI and Kentucky State Police announced on Wednesday the arrest of the former boyfriend of Crystal Rogers, a mother who vanished in 2015 and is presumed dead.
The FBI’s Louisville office said Brooks Houck was taken into custody "without incident" and that an indictment against him remains sealed pending an arraignment hearing early next month in Nelson County Circuit Court. Kentucky State Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital regarding the charges Houck is facing.
"In coordination with the Kentucky State Police, other local and federal law enforcement partners, FBI Louisville has been laser-focused on our commitment to hold accountable those that were responsible for the disappearance of Crystal Rodgers," it said in a statement. "Today, we take a significant step in making good on that promise."
Houck, Rogers' boyfriend and father of her youngest child, was named by police as a suspect in the early days of the investigation but was never arrested or charged in connection with her disappearance until today.
MAN ARRESTED IN CASE OF MISSING KENTUCKY MOM, BUT MYSTERY REMAINS OVER HER FATE
Crystal Rogers in an undated image. She was last seen in 2015. (Crystal Rogers Task Force)
He is believed to be the last person who saw Rogers alive on July 3, 2015. The mother of five was reported missing by her mom two days later.
The next day, her purse, keys and phone were found in her abandoned car along a Kentucky highway in Bardstown, but her body still has not been found.
Rogers' missing persons case was taken over by the FBI in 2020, when more than 150 law enforcement officers conducted interviews and executed several federal search warrants in a quest for answers.
The FBI is also investigating the 2016 fatal shooting of her father, Tommy Ballard, who was found dead while hunting on his own property.
FLASHBACK: CRYSTAL RODGERS’ MOTHER SUSPECTS BOYFRIEND FOR HER DISAPPEARANCE
Joseph Lawson, 32, was allegedly involved with Crystal Rogers' suspicious disappearance in 2015 and presumed death, according to unsealed court filings. (Nelson County Sheriff's Office)
Two weeks ago, a grand jury indicted Joseph Lawson, 32, on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and complicity in tampering with physical evidence in connection with Rodgers’ disappearance, according to unsealed court filings in Nelson County, Kentucky.
The indictment, which does not mention Lawson by name, said the crimes took place on July 3 or 4, 2015, when Lawson allegedly "agreed to aid one or more persons in the planning or commission of the crime or an attempt or solicitation to commit the crime when he, and/or, a co-conspirator intentionally caused the death of another," WDRB.com reported.
Joseph Lawson appeared virtually at his arraignment hearing, when he pleaded not guilty to all charges. (Nelson County Circuit Court)
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He pleaded not guilty and is being held in jail on $500,000 bond. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 to 20 years if convicted of conspiracy, according to WDRB.
Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.
