WHITESBURG, KY — Updated March 2026: What started as one of the most shocking crimes in Kentucky history — a sitting sheriff walking into a judge’s chambers and opening fire — has grown into a sprawling legal battle involving insanity defenses, allegations of courthouse corruption, a murdered judge’s phone, and the shadow of the death penalty. Here is everything you need to know about the case, from the day of the shooting through the latest developments in early 2026.
The Shooting: September 19, 2024
On a Thursday afternoon in Whitesburg, Kentucky, Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines walked into the chambers of District Judge Kevin Mullins at the Letcher County Courthouse. Stines closed the door behind him. Surveillance video captured what happened next.
Stines picked up Judge Mullins’ phone and dialed his teenage daughter’s number. Seconds after looking at the phone, he stood up and began firing. Mullins raised his left hand as the shots came. He crouched behind his desk. Stines kept shooting — then, as he prepared to leave, he turned back, closed in from another angle, and fired his final shots from roughly two feet away. In total, prosecutors say Mullins was shot nine times, seven of those while he was already on the ground.
Stines surrendered at the scene without incident. A 911 call had reported shots fired inside the courthouse. Responders found Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Stines, 43, was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder.
Just hours before the shooting, the two men had eaten lunch together at a restaurant near the courthouse. No witnesses reported any tension between them.
Who Was Judge Kevin Mullins?
Kevin R. Mullins had served as district judge for the 47th Judicial District in Letcher County since 2009, appointed by then-Governor Steve Beshear. He had been re-elected multiple times. Before taking the bench, Mullins worked as an assistant commonwealth’s attorney in Letcher County starting in 2001. He was a native of Pikeville, a University of Kentucky graduate, and held his law degree from the University of Louisville School of Law. By all public accounts, he and Stines were not just colleagues — they were friends.
The Federal Lawsuit That Changed Everything
Three days before the shooting, Sheriff Stines sat for a deposition in a federal civil lawsuit filed in 2022. Two unnamed women accused Letcher County Sheriff’s deputy Ben Fields of repeatedly raping and sexually extorting a female prisoner over six months — and those alleged assaults took place inside Judge Mullins’ own chambers.
The lawsuit did not accuse Judge Mullins of any involvement or wrongdoing. But it named Stines, claiming he failed to properly train Fields and failed to respond when he learned of the complaints. Fields had already pleaded guilty to rape, sodomy, and perjury charges and was sentenced to six months in prison in 2024.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs said Stines was visibly agitated throughout the hours-long deposition, frequently turned to his attorney for guidance, and asked for frequent breaks. The day after the deposition, Stines — normally quick to return press calls — took hours to respond to a reporter about an unrelated matter. He told the local paper, The Mountain Eagle, that he had lost 40 pounds in the past two weeks and did not know why.
The Allegations Against Judge Mullins
In December 2024, the case took another turn. NewsNation obtained audio recordings from an unrelated investigation in which a woman named Sabrina Atkins claimed that Judge Mullins was involved in a scheme allowing certain individuals to receive favorable legal treatment — reduced bail, removal of ankle monitors — in exchange for sexual acts. Atkins alleged she had seen video recordings taken inside the judge’s chambers showing female defendants engaging in acts to receive special treatment.
These allegations have not been proven in court. Judge Mullins is not alive to respond to them. But they have become central to the defense’s theory of motive — suggesting Stines may have discovered something on the judge’s phone that day that triggered his actions. Defense attorneys have argued Stines acted in a moment of extreme emotional disturbance after potentially learning his teenage daughter was connected to whatever was happening in those chambers.
As defense attorney Kirk Nurmi put it: “The sheriff might have acted to protect his daughter. However, he did not allow her the chance to testify. His actions robbed her of the opportunity to seek justice through the courts.”
Stines’ Mental State: “He Was Losing It”
Multiple people close to Stines told Kentucky State Police investigators that he was unraveling in the days before the shooting. A local attorney, Daniel Dotson, said he had warned Judge Mullins that “Mickey was losing it and couldn’t take this kind of pressure.” The local police chief reportedly told Dotson, “That son of a bitch has lost his mind.” A staffer at the sheriff’s office told investigators, “I think his anxiety was completely off charts. I do feel like he was in a psychosis.”
Stines had seen his family doctor the day before the shooting, accompanied by friends who were concerned about his stress and loss of sleep. The doctor diagnosed him with an “acute stress reaction” but noted Stines denied having depression, anxiety, or psychosis during the appointment.
Four days after the shooting, a social worker evaluated Stines at the Leslie County Detention Center and wrote that he “appears to be in an active state of psychosis” and was “unaware of his surroundings.” The report noted he sometimes became so aggressive he had to be subdued. When he surrendered at the courthouse, Stines reportedly said: “They are trying to kidnap my wife and kid.”
The Legal Battle: 2025–2026
The case has moved slowly through pretrial motions, with both sides fighting over nearly every aspect before a trial date has even been set.
November 2024: A grand jury indicted Stines on murder of a public official. He pleaded not guilty at arraignment and was ordered held without bond due to community safety concerns. He faces the possibility of the death penalty.
March 2025: Prosecutors requested a psychiatric evaluation of Stines. His defense team announced they intend to pursue an insanity defense.
June 2025: Defense attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the indictment entirely, arguing prosecutors withheld information from the grand jury and that grand jury proceedings were never properly recorded.
August 2025: The dismissal motion was denied. Stines appeared in court asking for bond — denied again. Prosecutors said bond is prohibited under Kentucky law in capital cases.
September 2025: Defense pushed back on a prosecution request for a second psychiatric evaluation, arguing it would further delay the trial. A medical intake form was unsealed confirming Stines was “still in an active state of psychosis” days after the shooting.
December 2025: Defense filed a motion asking Circuit Court Judge Christopher Cohron to recuse himself from the case, citing video showing Cohron and Mullins seated together for nearly two hours at a Kentucky Judicial Commission on Mental Health meeting — just one week before the shooting. A scheduled hearing on bond and change of venue was abruptly adjourned with little explanation, leaving both families in the packed courtroom without answers.
February 2026: Defense attorneys filed a motion to remove the death penalty as a sentencing option, arguing Stines has a serious mental illness or intellectual disability under Kentucky law — either of which would bar a jury from imposing a death sentence under Kentucky statutes KRS 532.135.
March 2026: Judge Cohron denied the recusal motion, stating he has “no personal bias or prejudice concerning a party, and there are no surrounding facts and circumstances upon which an objective observer might reasonably question my impartiality.” The Kentucky Supreme Court had previously sent the matter back to the circuit court, noting that if Cohron denied the motion, Stines’ attorneys could seek further review.
The Civil Case
Separate from the criminal proceedings, Judge Mullins’ widow has filed a civil lawsuit seeking to hold Stines and his employees liable for allegedly failing to prevent the tragedy despite warning signs about Stines’ deteriorating mental state.
Where the Case Stands Today
As of March 2026, no trial date has been set. The death penalty remains on the table. The insanity defense is being built. The presiding judge has denied recusal. And the question that has haunted Letcher County since September 19, 2024 — why did Mickey Stines walk into that courthouse and kill his friend? — still has no official answer.
What is clear is this: the shooting was caught on camera. Stines has admitted he pulled the trigger. The fight now is over what was in his mind when he did it — and whether the state of Kentucky will seek to put him to death for it.
We will continue to follow this story as it moves toward trial. Follow TEG Report for the latest updates on this and other Kentucky news.