A motion was filed on Thursday to move the case for the man charged in the Crystal Rogers disappearance out of Nelson County and into a “neutral county.”
Brooks Houck is charged with murder and tampering with evidence that stemmed from the disappearance of Rogers, his girlfriend at the time, in July 2015.
The defense claimed Houck could not get a fair and impartial trial in Nelson County or any county in Central Kentucky due to the significant public attention the case has received.
The motion stated following Kentucky’s test to determine if a fair trial is possible, the court should change the venue if the defendant shows there has been prejudicial news coverage if that coverage happened before the trial, and if the effect of that coverage is reasonably likely to prevent a fair trial.
Kentucky State Police, the FBI and other agencies have served multiple search warrants at Houck’s properties and properties owned by his family, among other locations, that all received news coverage in Central Kentucky, according to the document.
The defense also pointed out yard signs and billboards relating to Rogers’s disappearance, with some naming Houck before he was charged.
The motion used comments from Facebook as well to make the argument that Houck no longer has a presumption of innocence in Nelson County, with some accusing the defense counsel of being involved in the disappearance.
Court documents claim Houck cannot obtain a fair trial in any county within the Lexington and Louisville media markets. Due to this, the defense requested the case to be moved to Boyd or Daviess County.
The motion is currently set to be heard on Thursday, March 21.
Source: WAVE
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