Four of Crystal Rogers’ five children and her mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit this week against Brooks Houck, the rich boyfriend accused of killing her in 2015.
The suit was filed in Nelson County Circuit Court on Monday and lists as plaintiffs Kyleigh Fenwick, Ashley Miller, Thomas, Rogers, and Victoria Rogers — all of whom were minors when their mother disappeared — and Sherry Ballard, Rogers’ mother and administrator of her estate, Law&Crime reported.
Houck, 42, is the father of Rogers’ fifth child.
The suit alleges that Houck “intentionally and wrongfully caused the death” of Rogers and should pay for “necessary funeral, monument and administrative expenses,” for Rogers’ “physical pain and mental suffering” in her final moments of life, and for lost earnings and lost enjoyment of life.
“The Defendant’s actions against Crystal M. Rogers were committed willfully, with oppression, fraud, or malice, warranting an award of punitive damages, to punish the Defendant and deter the Defendant and others from similar acts in the future,” the lawsuit says. “As a result of the intentional actions of the Defendant, Brooks W. Houck, the decedent, Crystal M. Rogers, lost her life and suffered individually all damages herein complained of addition to those claimed for and on behalf of her estate.”
Rogers was last seen on July 3, 2015, at a party on the property of Houck’s family, as CrimeOnline has reported. Her body has not been found.
Houck has been the prime suspect in the disappearance and presumed death almost from the start but was not charged until September, three weeks after one of his employees, 32-year-old Joseph Lawson, was charged with conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with evidence. Houck was charged with murder and tampering with evidence and given a $10 million bail, which he has tried unsuccessfully to have lowered since that time.
A third arrest came earlier this month when 53-year-old Steve Lawson, Joseph Lawson’s father, was charged with conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with evidence. Steve Lawson was arraigned Thursday morning and given a $500,000 bail, the same as his son. the Louisville Courier-Journal reported.
See all CrimeOnline’s coverage of the Crystal Rogers case.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: Crystal Rogers/handout. Inset: Brooks Houck/handout]
