Mystery shrouds the murder of Kentucky judge Kevin Mullins, who was buried Sunday in a small, Appalachian county where he was gunned down in his chambers, allegedly by longtime friend and sheriff Shawn "Mickey" Stines, authorities said.
A small Appalachian county buried Kentucky District Judge Kevin Mullins on Sunday, just days after he was gunned down in his chambers, allegedly by the local sheriff who also was his longtime friend and colleague, officials said.
Mullins, 54, was mourned by fellow judges across the state, as well as friends and family, at his funeral in Jenkins, a former coal company town nestled in the hollers of Letcher County, which sits just over the Virginia state line in southeastern Kentucky.
"Proud to be the wife of this Irreplaceable man. Kevin was a lot of things to a lot of people. But he was Everything to me and my girls," his widow, Kimberly Mullins, wrote on Facebook as new details emerged in the stunning shooting that occurred Thursday afternoon, allegedly at the hands of Letcher County Sheriff Shawn "Mickey" Stines, police said.
Earlier that day, Stines and Mullins, longtime friends, had what appeared to be a normal, everyday lunch at a local eatery popular with court employees, witnesses said.
"Both men were my friends, and work family, and I saw them almost daily while we were at work," Letcher County Circuit Clerk Mike Watts told a local station over the weekend. "The judge and the sheriff ate lunch together that day," he said.
Stines, 43, is now charged with first-degree murder, according to court records. His arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday in Clark County. He has not entered a plea.
“These were two great pillars of the community," said Tiffany Craft, the mayor of Whitesburg, where the Letcher County District Court is located. Her comments echoed many in the rural community, where residents say folks know most of their neighbors and news, be it good or bad, travels fast.
“I don’t know what happened or what the reason was,” Watts told the station.“I know Kentucky State Police are investigating it and I feel confident that they will hopefully provide some answers," he said. "Maybe that will be able to help us all heal."
The shooting happened Thursday shortly before 3 p.m., when 911 calls reported shots being fired at the courthouse, police said. It apparently followed an argument between the two men, investigators said, but the reason for that dispute has not been publicly released.
Stines had entered the judge's chambers, saying he needed to discuss something with him, authorities said. Moments later, gunshots were heard, and then Stines emerged from the office with his hands up and surrendered without incident, police said.
According to a local news report, surveillance video from inside the chambers appeared to show the men exchanging cellphones and looking at them, the Mountain Eagle reported, citing unidentified sources. Then the sheriff appears to stand, walk over to Mullins and fire his weapon, the outlet reported.
The sheriff had given a deposition last Monday in a federal civil lawsuit filed by two women, one of whom said a deputy had forced her to have sex in Mullins’ chambers, after work hours, in exchange for not going back to jail.
The lawsuit accused Stines of "deliberate indifference in failing to adequately train and supervise” then-deputy Ben Fields.
Fields was sentenced in January to six months in jail, followed by six and a half years of probation, after he pleaded guilty to sodomy, perjury and tampering with a prisoner monitoring device, according to local reports.
Charges involving the second woman were dismissed because she has since died, authorities said.
In answer to the 2022 federal lawsuit, Stines' attorneys wrote, “Mickey Stines, at all times acted in good faith and exercised reasonable care and skill in effectuating his duties as required by law.”
That lawsuit is now on hold as investigators try to determine a motive for the judge's killing. Attorney Bethany Baxter, who represents the plaintiff in the civil suit, told Inside Edition Digital Monday she requested an extension of the discovery process to determine whether the shooting death impacts her client's case.
"It's hard to say no," to that question, she said. "I really don't know."
Mullins is survived by his wife and two daughters. He was praised at his funeral for his extensive work with drug education and diversion programs, and for being a source of help and guidance to the community.
“He died in his chambers of the courthouse where he spent his career working to help people,” his online obituary said.
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