A Bowling Green jury has found Steve Lawson guilty on two charges related to the disappearance and presumed death of Bardstown mother of five, Crystal Rogers.
Following the guilty verdicts Friday afternoon, jurors sentenced Lawson to 17 years in prison.
The 35-year-old Rogers disappeared over the July 4th weekend in 2015, and her body has never been found.
Lawson took the witness stand in his own defense Friday morning and tried to convince jurors that his only involvement was moving a car owned by Rogers at the request of Brooks Houck, her former boyfriend and father of one of her children.
"I'll man up and take the blame for that," Lawson said.
Lawson said he picked up his son, Joseph Lawson, who drove Rogers' car and left it on the side of the Bluegrass Parkway in Nelson County. The elder Lawson also admitted he moved up the driver's seat because his son was much taller than Rogers. Prosecutors argued that was to give the illusion that Rogers was the last person to drive her car.
Before Rogers disappeared, Lawson told jurors about a conversation he had with Houck, who often hired Lawson to do construction work. Houck allegedly said he wanted Rogers "gone," which Lawson said he understood as deceased.
Lawson told jurors he responded, "I'm not your man," but shared Houck's wishes with another man, Charlie Girdley, who "laughed it off." Prosecutors, however, argued Lawson solicited Girdley to murder Rogers.
Lawson said Houck never directly asked him to murder Rogers, but prosecutors said throughout the trial that Lawson provided support to Houck, who they believe killed Rogers. They also pointed to multiple law enforcement interviews and grand jury testimonies where Lawson offered different accounts of his involvement.
Lawson's defense team tried to convince jurors the prosecution's evidence fell short of proving Rogers was even murdered.
"Where is the proof Crystal was murdered? I don't know where she is and I hope and pray she is alive somewhere and this is all a big mistake", said attorney Darren Wolff.
The prosecution countered they didn't have to prove Rogers was killed, but had to only convince jurors Lawson knew of the plan to get rid of her and participated in the conspiracy. Prosecutors claimed Lawson stood to gain financially from helping Houck, who had promised him all the drywall work he wanted.
"That was his 30 pieces of silver," said attorney Jim Lesousky in closing statements.
After about two-and-a-half hours of jury deliberations, Lawson, 54, was found guilty Friday on a charge of conspiracy to commit murder and a charge of evidence tampering. His defense team said they planned to appeal the verdict.
During the sentencing phase of the trial, Lawson's mother, Barbara Colter, asked for leniency from the jury.
"When I think of him being involved in this, it blows me away," Colter said. "Somewhere he did go wrong, but he's a good person, but everybody needs to come to justice."
Colter apologized to Rogers' mother, Sherry Ballard, who was in the courtroom. Colter also acknowledged her tenacity trying to solve the decade-old mystery.
Rogers' daughter, 21-year-old Tori Rogers, wept as she told jurors that she was the "best mom ever." Tori Rogers, who was 11 when her mother went missing, spoke of all the milestones she'll miss, including her upcoming wedding.
"I still have hope we will find her, maybe not how we want to," said Tori Rogers.
The jury recommended a sentence of 17 years. Rogers' family and attorneys from both sides of the legal proceedings left the courthouse without speaking to the media.
Brooks Houck and Joseph Lawson are scheduled to stand trial together in Bowling Green beginning June 24. Houck is charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence. Joseph Lawson is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and evidence tampering.
Final sentencing for Steve Lawson is scheduled for Aug. 6 in Nelson Circuit Court. The trials were both moved to Bowling Green due to publicity surrounding the case.
