Kentucky - Judge killed, sheriff arrested in Letcher County courthouse shooting - Sep. 19, 2024 # 2

[iamshadow21]

I think the "foreplay" was to make sure the judge knew why the sheriff was going to kill him. He didn't want to ambush the judge by surprise, but to do it so the judge had full knowledge.

jmo

Yeah, there's the emotional catharsis the killer wants from this kind of killing. I think he wanted his victim to know why he was being murdered.

MOO

 

[bestill]

Or, it could be he was making the decision on what to do. Whatever lead up the the murder did not happen in a day and obviously was a stress to him. Deciding, as a sheriff of all people, to commit murder had to take a toll on his body and soul in the time leading up to it, plus the heaviness of whatever his motive was.

I don't he was on drugs, but that's just my guess.

jmo

Would they drug test him when he was arrested? Curious about that.

 

[worm]

Yeah, there's the emotional catharsis the killer wants from this kind of killing. I think he wanted his victim to know why he was being murdered.

MOO

Tho it’s sad to recognize I certainly agree.

 

[PrairieWind]

Would they drug test him when he was arrested? Curious about that.

Not likely as part of an arrest. They could have applied for a warrant to get a blood sample, but they would need some sort of suspicion that drugs/alcohol were a factor. I haven't heard of anything to that effect.

 

[Chimera]

Would they drug test him when he was arrested? Curious about that.

If not -- they should have.
Cover all the bases and so on.
Maybe some sort of psychological evaluation ?
Imo.

@PrairieWind ; I just read your post. I'm undecided re. testing Stines.
Definitely curious about his mental state, as well as any substances used, as it's been said Stines was not himself leading up to the murder ?
Omo.

 

[Friday Fan]

If this execution is excused and Stines walks someday (I hope not !!); then none of us are safe.
Good point. ^^^^
It's all so bizarre.

What's the term for a person who is full of themselves ?
Hubris ?
The most galling statement was that the sheriff wanted to be treated 'fairly'.
Just infuriating.
Was Judge Mullins treated fairly ?
If Stines thought he had "just cause", then go after him legally -- Mullins deserved his day in court.
If this execution is excused and Stines walks someday (I hope not !!); then none of us are safe.
Omo.

I can't emphasize this enough!
This is why this case is drawing my attention.
It's scary.

 

[Friday Fan]

Yeah, there's the emotional catharsis the killer wants from this kind of killing. I think he wanted his victim to know why he was being murdered.

MOO

Yes, you are wording it better than me!

 

[Friday Fan]

What was the bizarre behavior and personality changes?

In the wake of the shooting, some in Letcher County have focused on the sheriff’s state of mind.

The plaintiff and her two attorneys said Stines seemed agitated during the deposition, often turning to his attorney for guidance and asking for frequent breaks. The day after the deposition, Stines — who usually returned press calls promptly — took many hours to get back to a reporter about a fatal accident, according to The Mountain Eagle, Letcher’s weekly newspaper. Stines told the newspaper that he’d “told everyone at the sheriff’s office not to say anything to anyone until he returned.”

Stines also told the newspaper that he had lost 40 pounds in the past two weeks and did not know why.

https://www.npr.org/2024/10/01/g-s1-25793/video-shows-the-moment-a-kentucky-judge-was-shot-to-death

It is kinda weird that he would tell everyone not to speak about a fatal accident until he returned. Usually the sheriffs' offices are prompt about this so, they can get notices out about any road closures, traffic issues etc.


There were also other reports of him being "off" in the month leading up to this.

 

[PrairieWind]

It is kinda weird that he would tell everyone not to speak about a fatal accident until he returned. Usually the sheriffs' offices are prompt about this so, they can get notices out about any road closures, traffic issues etc.


There were also other reports of him being "off" in the month leading up to this.

I don't find any of that odd. In a deposition like that, many of the Plaintiff's attorney's questions are going to make the deponent agitated.
As for the fatal accident, taking a couple hours to get back to a weekly newspaper about a fatal accident, still seems pretty darn fast. And telling staff not to talk to anyone about it, tells me that he was following up on something about the accident and/or notifying friend/family before he wanted anything released. He had just spent most of the previous day in a deposition (which I guaranty he hated and considered a waste of time), and is calls returned, etc..

 

[riolove77]

I have a question for @riolove77 based on your experience as a prosecutor. In this case there is no question that Stines killed Mullins so the defense attorney is doing the only thing he can. He is trying to say it was a "crime of passion" or whatever they call it there. No mystery in that. He has given a couple of interview that were posted upthread where he did exactly that.. In my opinion that is to plant doubt in potential jurors.

So my question is...IF it comes out that the judge had done something illegal that would reasonably anger the sheriff, would there be any reason you would plea this down to manslaughter?

No. You can't go around killing people that anger you.

Heat of passion was created for situations that you reasonably cannot be expected to cool your passions and calm yourself, i.e. you walk in on your wife in bed with another man, or you walk in your child being sexually assaulted. If you kill the perpetrator IN THAT MOMENT - while you haven't had time to reflect on what you're doing and reasonably couldn't be expected to - that is what mitigates murder to manslaughter.

In this scenario, it appears something had been boiling up for weeks. They had just had lunch together minutes earlier. Obviously I don't know more than any of you, but so far, it appears to me that he knew what he was going to do.

 

[Friday Fan]

I don't find any of that odd. In a deposition like that, many of the Plaintiff's attorney's questions are going to make the deponent agitated.
As for the fatal accident, taking a couple hours to get back to a weekly newspaper about a fatal accident, still seems pretty darn fast. And telling staff not to talk to anyone about it, tells me that he was following up on something about the accident and/or notifying friend/family before he wanted anything released. He had just spent most of the previous day in a deposition (which I guaranty he hated and considered a waste of time), and is calls returned, etc..

In the case of accidents, wouldn't he just delegate this to his press person? This is plain old public safety PR. That's what I find weird. This is public safety 101. It's called an office for a reason.

Does he always wait to notify family and friends before there is a press release about an accident? According to the paper, he does not. So I don't buy that.

Usually I get SM reports from the sheriff's office if something is going on.

 

[Angelcat13]

I interpreted his request to be treated fairly to mean he wasn't expecting to be treated better than any other common criminal. He knew he just murdered someone and he was willing to take the heat for it. Whatever his motive was, he felt the crime was worth it - so don't bother treating him better than anyone else.

That's how I took it anyway.

jmo

I wonder if MS asked you be treated fairly because he felt there may be more favorable leanings towards the Judge and he wanted to make sure people listen to whatever the story may be.

 

[Angelcat13]

Without going back through all posts so far, I'm wondering when people close to the Sheriff feel he began to act "differently" (i.e. quieter, preoccupied, etc) and was there any correlation between this and his deposition in the civil suit? I'm not saying that the civil suit, or the crimes that resulted in the civil suit, necessarily had a direct effect on the Sheriff killing the Judge, but I have to wonder if something was said during the deposition that triggered something in MS. This could be just about anything. Maybe MS had heard rumors about KM but always dismissed them because he felt KM was an upstanding person, Judge, friend, etc and something was said during the deposition that suddenly made sense to MS.

We have all heard the rumors about the Judge's possible relationship with MS's daughter (and/or others). Is there any information about whether these rumors started AFTER the shooting, immediately prior to the shooting (i.e. days, weeks) or were they swirling long before? I'm not saying any rumors around this case are true, but we all know how whisper down the lane and rumors can take on a life of their own and result in devastating consequences - whether ultimately found to be true or false.

 

[KonaHonu]

There was no artempt to arrest.

How do you know that?

 

[Seattle1]

It is kinda weird that he would tell everyone not to speak about a fatal accident until he returned. Usually the sheriffs' offices are prompt about this so, they can get notices out about any road closures, traffic issues etc.


There were also other reports of him being "off" in the month leading up to this.

Seriously, I find these comments are being taking out of context, and now we are going off the rails, directly due to the circumstances! This is a weekly publication (Mountain Eagle) where the Sheriff probably wanted to be the spokesperson for his small department. It's unfortunate that the Letcher County Sheriff FB was taken down where this was clearly evident. Seems people are forgetting this is a KY town with a population of less than 1800, and a county under 20K!

MSM sources are out there. Perhaps reading/listening to quotes by somebody like the Clerk of Court (Mike Watts) who worked closely with both Stines and Mullins for decades and considered both men close friends can provide a better perspective to state of mind of both men at the time of the shooting than unnamed sources who after the fact surface to say Stines not himself. I think the Mayor another good source. Details from people who would truly know whether or not Stines was acting himself or not. MOO

 

[scapa]

Yet again another deceitful and incomplete article from the DM! A thorough reporter would have told us what sauces they each ordered for their wings. You can tell a lot about a man from his wing sauce preference

... And we need to know the current values of properties owned by the major players in this case. Only the DM digs deep into those realty portfolios and provides the detailed info that can reveal so much about motive, opportunity, and if someone has a polished parquet floor or cheeky snug with a street view.

The rest we can leave to WSers, the odd MSM reporter who cares, and court.

 

[KonaHonu]

Well there IS this big elephant in the room to consider, IMO.

Shawn "Mickey" Stines is named in federal lawsuit accusing him of failing to investigate sexual assault within his department
Stines was deposed Monday, Sept. 16, 2024 in the case
The lawsuit alleges the sexual assault took place in the Judge Kevin Mullins' chambers
Stines killed Mullins in his chambers on Sept. 19, 2024

If you read the lawsuit you will see that Stines is named in his OFFICIAL capacity. He had no personal risk. The county also has insurance.

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/65590626/adkins-v-fields/

 

[PrairieWind]

In the case of accidents, wouldn't he just delegate this to his press person? This is plain old public safety PR. That's what I find weird. This is public safety 101. It's called an office for a reason.

Does he always wait to notify family and friends before there is a press release about an accident? According to the paper, he does not. So I don't buy that.

Usually I get SM reports from the sheriff's office if something is going on.

This is a very small county. Like where I grew up. Is there a "press person?" "Next of kin" have to be notified before names are released. Maybe he takes that upon himself to do that. But the comment I read was that it took a few hours for him to get back to the paper. That still seems incredibly quick. Again, this is a small county. Throwing stuff up SM before family are contacted would be horrific.

 

[Friday Fan]

How do you know that?

It has not been reported.
Apparently, they were sitting down looking at phones and Stines got up and pointed his gun at the judge. He doesn't call for backup and he starts shooting. I don't see any handcuffs or any attempt at arrest. I don't see any evidence of resisting arrest. Wouldn't that have been caught on video?

 

[Friday Fan]

This is a very small county. Like where I grew up. Is there a "press person?" "Next of kin" have to be notified before names are released. Maybe he takes that upon himself to do that. But the comment I read was that it took a few hours for him to get back to the paper. That still seems incredibly quick. Again, this is a small county. Throwing stuff up SM before family are contacted would be horrific.

Sorry, but names are not released at times of accidents. It's a traffic, public safety situation. If a road is closed, public needs to be notified.