Steve Lawson Trial Day Two: Prosecution presents witnesses alleging conspiracy
Defense questions reliability, memories of witness statements
Prosecutors presented four witnesses Wednesday who testified to their previous interactions with Steven Lawson that they said tied him to the plot to murder Crystal Rogers in July 2015 and help cover it up.
Lawson’s defense attorneys sought to erode those witnesses' credibility through various means, such as pointing toward past drug addiction for three of them, calling into question the accuracy of memories from 10 years earlier or conflicts between their testimony and past statements.
Lawson’s son’s ex says he mentioned murder to her and her mother
One of the witnesses testified that Lawson had said in her presence that he had been involved in a murder, and she learned later that it was Rogers.
Lawson was dating Elizabeth Chesser’s mother around September 2017 when, she said, Lawson mentioned he had planned to leave his ex-wife, Tammy.
“He said he was leaving Tammy because she knew he had committed murder,” Chesser testified.
She said she did not come forward at that time because Lawson’s son, Joey, had warned “Basically I would be next if I said anything.”
Joey Lawson is accused of involvement in Rogers’ murder and he is set to go to trial with Brooks Houck, Rogers’s ex-boyfriend, in June. Chesser and Joey were also in a relationship around the time their parents were dating.
It was later, in 2019, that Chesser said she came to believe the murder Lawson was involved in was Rogers’. Chesser said she was watching a documentary about the case when she saw footage of Lawson talking with Houck during an interview with police and she recognized his voice.
She spoke to the FBI about it in 2019 and testified before a grand jury in 2023.
Darren Wolff, Lawson’s defense attorney, brought up Chesser’s past drug addiction as a way of questioning her recollection. Chesser said Lawson’s alleged statement was during a “sober time,” after she had moved in with her mother to “dry out.” Wolff suggested Chesser had watched several docuseries about Rogers and that her recollections were influenced “by things you either saw on television or were told by other people.”
Chesser refuted that premise.
“That’s not something you forget,” she said.
Wolff also implied Chesser was looking to involve herself in the Rogers case because she had become emotionally invested in it reaching a conclusion.
But on redirect, when Special Prosecutor Shane Young asked Chesser if she wanted to be there testifying that day, Chesser said “No” as she broke down in sobs.
“I’m afraid someone is going to kill my children,” she said, just before a defense objection cut her off from elaborating further.
“I have to go take care of this girl.”
Former coworkers recount ‘unusual activity,’ conversations
Two people who were sub-contractors for Houck’s construction company said Lawson also mentioned Rogers in conversations prior to her disappearance.
Stacie Cranmer
Stacie Cranmer said she worked for Houck on projects such as building decks and installing insulation.
She testified she saw Houck and Lawson on July 3, 2015, driving around and spending an unusual amount of time together. She said she talked to Lawson afterward when he said: “I have to go take care of this girl.”
When she pressed him on details, she testified he said “Well, just take care of her. She’s got five kids and she’s not doing real good.” When she asked him if he meant rehab, he said, “No, I wish that was the case.”
When Rogers was reported missing two days later, Cranmer contacted police and later provided a written statement.
The defense used that written statement, though, to question her assumption that Laswson was referring to Rogers. In her statement, Cranmer wrote “meth” was mentioned during her conversation with Lawson. There is no indication Rogers was a drug user.
Cranmer acknowledged on the stand that her statement included meth, but she said the drug only came up as part of the longer conversation, after she pressed him for details about what he meant about “taking care” of the woman.
Cranmer was not the only Houck hire who testified.
Charlie Girdley
Charlie Girdley was working as a framer and knew the Lawsons well.
Girdley testified that Steve Lawson told him that Brooks Houck wanted to “get rid” of Crystal but that Lawson “wasn’t the man I was.” Girdley said Joey discussed taking Rogers’ car and burying it where no one would find it.
Girdley described hanging out with the Lawsons after work on July 3, 2015, drinking at a local bar and a “pre-party.” He and Joey “went to get some dope” and at some point that day, Girdley said, Brooks gave Joey the keys to Rogers’ car, then Girdley returned to the bar.
But under cross by the defense, Girdley acknowledged he was a frequent cocaine user in 2015 who later developed a pill addiction, and that he was probably high when the alleged conversation took place.
He was questioned in 2015 or 2016 by investigators, but did not tell them about what he heard or saw. It was only in 2023, when he absconded after violating parole and was arrested by Kentucky State Police that he started talking about the Rogers case. He said when troopers arrested him, they started questioning him right away about Rogers, Lawson and Houck.
Girdley said he has been clean since 2023.
Lawson’s step daughter disputes rental claim
When Houck called Lawson from the interrogation room at the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office, Houck asked Lawson to recount what their 16-second conversation was about just after midnight on July 4. Lawson claimed he had called looking for rental property, and later expanded on that claim when he talked to police, saying he was looking for a rental for his daughter.
But in court Wednesday, Lauren Hardin testified her only sister was living in Cincinnati at the time and was not moving to the area, and that Hardin was living at that time next-door to Lawson and she was not looking for a place to rent. She said she did not ask Lawson to look for her, and that she had rented from Houck before and had his and Rogers’ numbers.
But she was another prosecution witness who was addicted to drugs during the period of time she was testifying about. And, she acknowledged that she was about to be evicted from the place she was living around that time, and it would not be unusual for Lawson to seek to help his step daughter in finding another place to rent.
Lawson’s involvement in conspiracy largely relies on witnesses
There was further evidence presented by prosecutors they say point toward Lawson’s role in planning Rogers’ murder, taken mostly from his own conflicting statements during grand jury testimony and what he told investigators under interrogation.
But the bulk of the prosecution’s case will likely hinge on how credible the jury finds the testimony of the witnesses from Wednesday morning. Wednesday afternoon primarily focused on cell phone records and forensic investigation of his interactions and whereabouts on the night of July 3 or in the days afterward.
In case you missed it …
Steven Lawson trial day one: Lesser of two evils defense
He committed one crime, but he did not commit the worst one.
CORRECTION: This post previously incorrectly identified one of the witnesses’ last name who testified at Steve Lawson’s trial. Her name is Stacie Cranmer.