A man who was the boyfriend of Crystal Rogers, a Kentucky mother of five who vanished in 2015, has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with her disappearance, officials announced Wednesday.
Rogers was reported missing on July 5, 2015. Local authorities previously said they believe she is dead, but her body has never been found.
The FBI office in Louisville and Kentucky State Police arrested Brooks Houck, who was her boyfriend at the time, “as a result of the investigation into the disappearance of Crystal Rogers,” the FBI announced Wednesday.
He was charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence, according to an unsealed indictment. His bond was set at $10 million cash.
“Additional details will be revealed during Houck’s arraignment in early October in the Nelson County Circuit Court,” the FBI’s Louisville office said in a statement.
Three months after Rogers vanished, the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office named Houck as a suspect as he was one of the last people to have seen Rogers at the Bardstown home where they lived with their young son — he was not charged.
Rogers had not been seen or heard from since the evening of July 3, 2015. That day, her red Chevrolet Impala was found abandoned on Bluegrass Parkway with her keys, her phone and her purse inside, the FBI’s Louisville office has said. Her mother reported her missing two days later.
In October 2015, then-Sheriff Ed Mattingly said he believed Rogers was dead.
Over a year after Rogers vanished, her father, Tommy Ballard, was shot and killed by an unknown assailant on his family’s property in November 2016 as he was preparing to go hunting, according to the FBI. His case remains unsolved.
Houck's arrest is the second in Rogers' case.
Joseph L. Lawson, 32, was indicted this month on charges of criminal conspiracy to commit murder and complicity in tampering with physical evidence. The court entered a plea of not guilty for him.
Rogers’ family welcomed the news of Houck's arrest in a statement on Facebook.
“This morning the Ballard family received word that Brooks Houck was arrested for an indictment warrant after being indicted by a Nelson County Grand Jury. Brooks Houck was named the number one suspect in Crystal’s case in 2015," the statement said. "We want to thank the FBI, Kentucky State Police, Nelson County Sheriff’s Office, Attorney General’s Office, Commonwealth Attorney Shane Young and staff as well as the juries.
"At this time we ask for privacy as this is another step forward for justice for Crystal. Continue to pray that justice is served and we bring Crystal home," it added.
The FBI said in a statement that Houck's arrest is a "significant step in making good" on its promise to hold those responsible for Rogers' disappearance accountable.
