According to new testimony from a grand jury, a Kentucky judge who was allegedly killed by the local sheriff was not involved with the sheriff’s daughter.
Former Letcher County, Kentucky Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines is accused of shooting and killing former Judge Kevin Mullins of the Kentucky 47th Judicial District on September 19, 2024. The incident occurred after Mullins and Stines had lunch together, officials reported.
Fox News Digital previously obtained footage showing Stines entering Mullins’ office, where he requested the room be cleared so he could have a private conversation with the judge. They spoke for approximately seven minutes before Stines stood up to lock the doors.
The video then shows Mullins handing his phone to Stines, who attempted to make a call that was not answered. Stines can be seen approaching Mullins when, according to police, he fired the weapon at close range. Stines has entered a not guilty plea.
A Kentucky State Police trooper tries to calm Mickey Stines down during questioning. (Kentucky State Police)
During the grand jury hearing, Stamper noted that neither Stines’ wife nor daughter feared for their safety, and no evidence supported any claim that they had been under duress or kidnapped.
Records indicate Stines was subject to a mental health assessment at the Leslie County Detention Center four days post-incident, revealing he was “still in an active state of psychosis” with “no memory of the recent past.”
The grand jury testimony was briefly made public on Sept. 3 before it was sealed.
Stines’ attorney, Jeremy Bartley, previously responded to online rumors about the phone exchange in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“[Stines] had attempted multiple times to contact his daughter throughout the day, and including the time while he was in chambers, and he tried to contact her from the judge’s phone,” Bartley said.
Some had speculated that the phone exchange indicated some kind of relationship between the judge and Stines’ daughter, which Bartley said is untrue.
District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, was allegedly killed by Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines, 43, in the judge’s chambers. (Kentucky Court of Justice; Letcher County Sheriff’s Office)
Stines had been experiencing paranoia that his family was in danger prior to the shooting, which was caused by a civil lawsuit where he was named and deposed.
“Specifically, in the approximate two-week period prior to the incident in the judge’s chambers, pretty much all the witnesses the investigators talked to support what those close to Mickey had said as well,” Bartley said. “And that’s simply this: Mickey had become extremely paranoid. He’d become sleepless, basically wasn’t sleeping. [He] slept little, if at all. He had sort of become withdrawn. And you know, it was of such a concern that his co-workers urged him to go to the doctor, and he ultimately did the day prior to the shooting.”
