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

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shetalksinstereo said:
Maybe they moved the assets to the wife with all the other stuff that was circulating prior?
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I also think it's an old-school arrangement in general. I know my father (who was not a criminal!) put everything in my mom's name. I think the idea is it's a financial safety net, especially for stay-at-home-moms and wives who will likely outlive husbands. (I don't know if his wife works outside the home or not.)

I do not see anything nefarious in putting assets in her name, but it might come in handy now when he needs to prove he can't afford legal counsel.

jmo
 
tlcya said:
disagree but only time and more info will tell.

IMO it's just as possible that Stines was involved in something he thought the judge was going to bring to light - shrug.

again, only time will tell. right now we have a victim and an accused murderer and that is pretty much it.
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This doesn't quite make sense to me, though. If there's something on the judge's phone that incriminated Stines, the judge is now dead and Stines has no idea if anyone else has access to that phone's contents. If there's incriminating stuff on that phone, it's still there.
 
Occam's Zebra said:
This doesn't quite make sense to me, though. If there's something on the judge's phone that incriminated Stines, the judge is now dead and Stines has no idea if anyone else has access to that phone's contents. If there's incriminating stuff on that phone, it's still there.
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Exactly why I hope all investigators are trustworthy. If anyone deleted information from either phone (assuming they have Stines phone) accidentally or purposefully ... then investigators will have to do a little deeper digging for all phone records. jmo... from my always-suspicious mind
 
Occam's Zebra said:
This doesn't quite make sense to me, though. If there's something on the judge's phone that incriminated Stines, the judge is now dead and Stines has no idea if anyone else has access to that phone's contents. If there's incriminating stuff on that phone, it's still there.
Click to expand...
Of course it's all just guesswork at this point but it doesn't make sense to me either.
Stines wanted the judge dead, obviously.
He didn't appear to care about deleting any phone content, his or the judge's.
Or if he did, we just haven't heard about that yet.

jmo
 
fred&edna said:
Exactly why I hope all investigators are trustworthy. If anyone deleted information from either phone (assuming they have Stines phone) accidentally or purposefully ... then investigators will have to do a little deeper digging for all phone records. jmo... from my always-suspicious mind
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If it was a message/email/text, it still exists in the account of whoever sent it.
If it was an image, likewise. Even if deleted from the receiver's end, the sender still has the info.
If it was deleted from all sources, phone records will still show who (number) sent what (text or image) to who.
Digital tech may seem invasive at times (and let's face it, it is) but it's also very helpful in putting the missing pieces in place.

jmo
 
Ontario Mom said:
Of course it's all just guesswork at this point but it doesn't make sense to me either.
Stines wanted the judge dead, obviously.
He didn't appear to care about deleting any phone content, his or the judge's.
Or if he did, we just haven't heard about that yet.

jmo
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The whole story is far from told at this point. Investigators will get the content even if it was deleted, but MOO is that the Sheriff had the "If this-then that" of that interaction thought out before he arrived. If the phone content is important, he sent it or saved it after the deed was done.
 
I had a thought about the two-phone comparison yesterday while discussing this case with a friend.

I'm thinking the format at issue might have been a string of text messages.

Let's say whoever owns phone A had deleted some parts of an exchange that person had with the Judge.

Stines can't see what's been deleted, until he looks at the phone B, the Judge's phone, where those parts of the exchange have not been deleted.

Stines would need to bring phone A with him and look back and forth between the two phones in order to see where the missing bits happened in the sequence, to put the communications in context.

It also makes sense to me that if whatever was on that message exchange was volatile enough to send Stines into a murderous rage, he would not want to delete the evidence from the Judge's phone because that is what justifies, in his mind at least, the shooting. His defense, as it were. (Even though as a Sheriff, he knows without a doubt that the legal system won't see it that way).

MOO
 
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Teche said:
IMO: The killing has nothing to do with the deputy convicted of SA, but everything to do with posts or pictures on the 2 phones. I believe that one phone belongs to the sheriff’s relative or dear friend.
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I think you're right about the motive.

I hadn't considered that the phone might not have been the judge's. That's interesting.
 
I find it interesting that the sheriffs department retirement funding seemed to drop by $30,000 every year listed in the earlier posts. Where employees leaving of being laid off? Were department finances in failing condition?

As for a public defender, I suspect that 95% (or more) of Americans would be bankrupted by a first degree murder defense. Even OJ Simpson was bankrupted by his criminal defense. And in most cases, that would only cover a portion of legal costs. I don't mind murderers being bankrupted, but, depending on legal arrangements and state laws, his wife could also be bankrupted.
 
Auntie Cipation said:
I think it's the other way around -- the two phones were the judge's and someone else's, and it's the sheriff's own phone that wasn't involved. MOO
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I think it is possible the sheriff had recently; (pre deposition), come into possession of a cell phone with either pics or text that concerned others important to him. This accounts for his change in his normal countenance and responses. He was concerned and thinking it over on what if anything to do.

The two phone context could be his confronting the judge and demanding confirmation or denial by seeing the judges phone. Confronted, confirmed, acted. (Like the old saw, "You gonna believe me or your lying eyes? "
 
There isn't any new information in this article.

Curious to know the truth about what actually happened and why the judge was murdered. jmo

Updated on September 25, 2024 at 7:15 pm​

www.nbcwashington.com

Kentucky sheriff pleads not guilty in fatal shooting of judge in courthouse chamber

The sheriff shot the judge multiple times on Sept. 19 following an argument in the Kentucky courthouse, according to Kentucky State Police.
www.nbcwashington.com www.nbcwashington.com


Miller said the cost of defending Stines could ultimately cost several hundred thousand dollars.

Wilhoit appointed Miller to defend Stines at the next hearing in October but warned Stines that the trial court could require him to pay for his own attorney.

In Letcher County, residents are struggling to cope with the courthouse shooting. Those who know the sheriff and the judge had nothing but praise for them, recalling how Mullins helped people with substance abuse disorder get treatment and how Stines led efforts to combat the opioid crisis. They worked together for years and were friends.

Mullins served as a district judge in Letcher County since he was appointed by former Gov. Steve Beshear in 2009 and elected the following year.
 
Occam's Zebra said:
This doesn't quite make sense to me, though. If there's something on the judge's phone that incriminated Stines, the judge is now dead and Stines has no idea if anyone else has access to that phone's contents. If there's incriminating stuff on that phone, it's still there.
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Yes it is. And will be very interesting to see/hear what all this was caused by during the forthcoming trial. Truth is stranger than fiction....
 
Ontario Mom said:
Of course it's all just guesswork at this point but it doesn't make sense to me either.
Stines wanted the judge dead, obviously.
He didn't appear to care about deleting any phone content, his or the judge's.
Or if he did, we just haven't heard about that yet.

jmo
Click to expand...
That why I'm wondering if someone was ON the phone, in a call or video-chat, during the ordeal.

jmo
 
shetalksinstereo said:
Maybe they moved the assets to the wife with all the other stuff that was circulating prior?
Click to expand...
Assets are joint

Tennessee Property Assessment Data | Parcel Details

This site allows anyone to search for property values and other key information about properties across the state of Tennessee. The data on this site is produced by the state's county Assessors of Property.
assessment.cot.tn.gov
 
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