The daughter of a Kentucky sheriff, who was recorded shooting his judge friend, has spoken out against rumors connecting her to the deceased.
Eighteen-year-old Lila Stines took to TikTok to address the “fabricated” stories involving her and Judge Kevin Mullins, who was fatally shot by her father, Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines, in September 2024.
Responding to a comment asking about the rumors, Stines clarified, “I’m referring to the fabricated stories about me and the other party,” alluding to Judge Mullins.
The incident, which took place in Mullins’ chambers, was captured on video and left the nation stunned. Sheriff Stines, 43, is facing murder charges but intends to claim insanity as his defense.
In the wake of Mullins’ death, numerous allegations of corruption and misconduct surfaced, with claims that he operated his office akin to a “brothel.”
Among the rumors was a purported connection between the married judge and Lila Stines, who was still a minor at the time. However, Lila has since created a TikTok account to urge people to cease spreading false information about her.
‘I just have one question,’ Lila said in her original video. ‘Do you all not have anything better to do than to sit and gossip? You are taking my pain and making it your pleasure.’
She went on to say: ‘So my advice to the people doing that – get a job, do something meaningful with your life and contribute to society in a positive way.’
Lila Stines, the daughter of a Kentucky Sheriff who was captured on camera allegedly shooting a judge, made a post on TikTok addressing rumors about her and the slain judge
In September 2024, Letcher County Sheriff Shawn ‘Mickey’ Stines (right), 43, allegedly shot and killed District Judge Kevin Mullins (left), 54, in his own chambers
Shocking surveillance footage in the office captured the whole encounter between the men, who had long been friends, and the story made national headlines.
The video received 1.9 million views and 41,400 likes. In a follow-up video Lila posted the next day, she addressed the reception it got and clarified some of her comments.
She said that when she posted the video, she only had about 950 followers and did not expect it to reach an audience beyond her hometown and ‘maybe a couple others.’
‘I wasn’t actually talking about the situation and what actually happened itself. I was more leaning towards the rumors that had been spread about me,’ she added.
‘I was not talking about news or social media. I was simply talking about the people who sit at home behind a keyboard all day and say terrible things about my name.’
She also said that she is ‘just human’ and that she is ‘just trying to learn how to process and cope with it all.’
The rumors were fueled by the fact that Mullins had the phone number of Stines’s daughter in his phone, according to detectives.
In the surveillance footage, Stines can be seen placing a call to his daughter from Mullins’s phone moments before he shoots the judge dead. It is unclear if anyone answered the call.
A slew of allegations of corruption and misconduct were levied at the judge after he was killed. Mullins was accused of running his office ‘like a brothel’
Stines admitted to the shooting but pleaded not guilty to a murder charge, arguing it was manslaughter instead
A medical report from Leslie County Detention Center staff revealed Stines was still in a state of ‘active psychosis’ for days after the shooting.
Stines admitted to the shooting but pleaded not guilty to a murder charge, arguing ‘it was something that occurred in the heat of passion’ and at most represented manslaughter.
Accusations of sexual misconduct against Mullins were made by a woman named Sabrina Adkins who was raped by one of Stines’s deputies, Ben Fields.
Adkins said she had seen Mullins having sex with a woman in his office and that the judge had ‘some videotapes of some stuff in the judge’s chambers… just with girls, sexual and stuff.’
Both Stines’s wife Caroline and his daughter have already vehemently denied suggestions that Lila had a relationship with Mullins, who was married with two children.
During grand jury testimony, State Police Detective Clayton Stamper maintained that Lila never had any contact with Mullins via text, social media, phone calls or in person despite her phone number appearing in his phone.
A medical report from Leslie County Detention Center staff revealed Stines was still in a state of ‘active psychosis’ for days after the shooting.
Stines and Mullins had been longtime friends who regularly had lunch together, including the day of the shooting just hours before it happened. Stines also served as Mullins’s bailiff before he became sheriff in 2018.
Stines is being held without bond at the Leslie County Detention Center.
