Warning: Graphic content, readers’ discretion advised. This story contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some readers discretion advised.
Former Letcher County Sheriff Mickey Stines plans to plead insanity and use an extreme emotional disturbance defense when he goes on trial for the murder of Judge Kevin Mullins.
september 19,2024
The shooting was recorded by surveillance cameras last September and led to questions about a possible sex scandal at the courthouse.
law & crime retraces stine’s steps in the hours before the shooting .
mickey stein claiming he was insane when he shot and killed a judge in his chambers, his longtime friend.
when mickey stein shot and killed judge kevin mullins in his chambers it was absolutely unbelievable.
this was the top cop in letcher county kentucky firing a gun at a sitting judge in his chambers and it was all recorded by a surveillance camera.
and so was much ofs stein’s and mulen’s day before the chooting.
Not only was kevin mullen’s a judge, he was mickey stein’s one- time biss and longtime friend.
but it seemed like something changed in a matter of minutes,maybe even seconds, the sheriff may have snapped,at least that’s what the latest filing from his lawyers would suggest.
stein is charged with murdering kevin mullins, his lawyer jeremy bartley filed a notice stating;
1) defendant intends to present expert evidence relating to a mental disease or defect or metnal condition bearing on the issue of guilt and punishment.
2) Defendant intends to present a defense of insanity , as well as a defense ofextreme emotional distrubance.
on top of this stein’s lawyers are telling the court that they want their expert to be present when a state expert evaluates him .
the shooting happend last september 19th september,2024 and we’re getting a look at stein’s before he pulled the trigger through surveillance cameras in and around the courthouse.
that day seemed like any other in letcher county,judge kevin mullins was in his chambers around noon,mickey steins was sitting across from him in a chair
and there was a man to his left and another man- a pastor stood to mullin’s side.
there’s no audio ,so we don’t know what the men were discussing but mullins at least seemed relaxed,he was even smoking in his chambers
the group sat for several minutes ,chatting away, it’s probably something, they had done many many times over the years.
around 12 :07 p.m. steins walked out of the judge’s chambers, mullen says something and he stops but then he keeps walking-again we don’t know what was said but the people i the room certainly know.
from outside ,you can see mickey stein walking away from the courthouse, it’s 12:11 p.m. at this point.
another camera shows stein’s walking back into the courthouse just a moment then he turns around and walks back out .
ullins and stein’s had lunch at a local resturant , it was something they did often, they ordered the same thing they always did and by all accounts, there was no tension at this lunch.
by 13:16, p.m mickey steins is walking back to the courthouse from lunch if only we knew what he was thinking on that walk.
by 13:30, judge mullins was back in his chambers, talking with some people for a little bit
eventually he’s back on the bench judge mullins presided over cases from about 13:45 to 14 :35 that afternoon.
then around 3: p.m that day, mullins was in his chambers with stein what the men were discussing remains a mystery, stein made a phone call first from his phone and then judge mullins’s phone and then stein fired several shots at the man he once called a friend.
you can see people in mullins’s chambers rush out after hearing the shots,they likely had no idea what was happening other than a gun had been fired.
troopers dash camera showed stein being led to a cruiser in handcuffs after 16 :00 p.m that day and stein’s sounded paranoid.
during the nearly hour drive to the leslie county jail Troopers tried to get stein to talk to them.
we later found out that steins had been deposed days before the shooting in a civil suit filed by a woman named sabrina adkins
she had been arrested in 2021 on a drug charge and a deputy named ben fields told her he’d help her with an ankle bracelet for home incarceration in exchange for sex.
adkins said she and fields had sex in judge mullins’s chambers six times and she told investigators with the kentucky attorney general’s office it wasn’t just fields having sex in the judge’s office.
sabrina atkins had told investigators, she saw a video if judge mullins having sex with a girl in his chambers.
last fall , kentucky state police investigator clayton stamper testified at a preliminary hearing for mickey stein, that stein was concerned for his wife and daughter after the shooting.
when he was taken into custody i was told by the one of the other officers that were there that he made the comment “they’re trying to kidnap my wife and kid”
so something is definitely going on in letcher county kentucky,it’s a small town with a lot of big secrets.
as the investigation unfolds more questions arise,what did mullins say to stein in those final moments, what secrets were they hiding,and what drove a man like mickey stein to commit sucha heinous act?
the answers lie in a tangled web of power,corruption and a mind pushed to its limits.
but this is only the beginning, as we delve deeper into the case ,the twist and turns will leave you questioning everyting you thought you knew.
we uncover shocking details of the deposition , the secrets , hidden in the judge’s chambers and the event that led to that fatful day.
sabrina adkins took the stand,her testimony would unrival a scandal that had been buried deep within the walls of the lecter county courthouse.
she spole of a deputy ben fields who had promsed her freedom in exchange for sex, but her story didn’t end there ,she claimed that fields wasn’t the only one abusing his power, judge kevin mullins she said was also involved.
atkins described a video she had seen a video that showed mullin’s engaging in sexual acts with a women in his own chambers,the room buzzed with shock and disbelief, how could a respected judge be involved in something so vile.
mickey stein sat in the courtroom that day listtening intently as the county sheriff, he had been tasked with investigating the allegations but what he uncovered would haunt him.
the deposition revealed a dark underbelly of corruption one that implicated not just fields and mullins , but others in positions of power, stein had always prided himself being a man of intergrity but now he found himself caught in a web of lies and deceit.
in the days following the deposition stein’s behavior changed dramatically.
friends and colleagues noticed that he was on edge,his usual calm demeanor replaced by paranoia and agitation.
he barely slept,his mind racing with thought of what he had learned he confided in a few trusted individuals expressing fear for his family .
they’re trying to kidnap my wife and kid
he told one officer , but who was they and why did stein believe his family was in danger?
the answer may lie in the events leading up to the shooting
on the morning of september 19th, stein arrived at the courthouse as usual, surveillance footage shows him pacing outside mullins chambers his face etched with worry.
he steps inside where mullins is seated relaxed and smoking a cigarette, the two men talk, ther conversation calm at first ,but something changes.
stein’s body language becomes tense , his hands clenched into fists, he stands abruptly and walks out only to return later that afternoon.
what happened in those final moments,what did mullins say to stein that pushed him over the edge? the surveillance footage doesn’t capture audio, but steins lawyers claim that their client was in a grip of extreme emotional distrubance, they argue that stein believd his family was in imminent danger.
and that he acted out of fear and desperation, but was it really that simple or was there more to the story ?
as the investigation continues more details emerge,the video adkins described the one that allegedly showed mullins engaging in sexual acts has yet to be found,but investigators believe it exists and they’re determined to uncover the truth.
they also discovered that the surveillance camera in mullins chambers was installed after the allegations fields came into light.
was it a coincidence or was it an attempt to cover up ,what was really going on,stein’s lawyers are preparing to argue that their client was insane at the time of the shooting.
they planned to present expert testimony to support their claim, but the prosecution is skeptical,they argue that stein knew exactly what he was doing and that his actions were premeditated.
the stage is set for a dramatic courtroom battle , one that will delve into the darkest corners of the human mind,but as the trial approaches questions remain-what secrets were hidden in the judges chambers? who else was involved in the scandal and what drove mickey stein to commit such a heinous act, the answers lies in the twist and turns of a case that has shocked a small town to its core.
the day of the shooting, replayed in the mind of everyone who had been in the courthouse,the surveillance footage became the centerpiece of the investigation, a silent witness to the tragedy that unfolded ,but the footage only told part of the story .
the real drama lay in the moments that weren’t captured on camera
the conversations , the threats, the secrets that had been buried for years,mickey stein’s lawyers were determined to uncover the truth, they argued that their client had been pushed to the brink by a combination of mental illness and the pressure of the deposition.
they pointed to stein’s erratic behavior in the days leading up to the shooting, his paranoia, his sleepless nights,his fear for his family,but the prosecution wasn’t convinced they believed that stein had acted out of anger and revenge,not insanit.
as the trial began , the courtroom was packed. with spectactors eager to hear the details of the case ,the prosecution called their first witness clayton stamper a kentucky state police investigator who had interviewed stein after the shoting.
stamper testified that stein had been calm but paranoid during the interrogation he kept saying ” treat me fair” stamper recalled.
he was afraid for his family but he wouldn’t say why, the defense however had a different story story to tell .they called a series of witnesses who described stein’s mental state in the days leading up to the shooting.
one witness a close friend to stein testified that he had never seen stein so distraught he was a mess the friend said he couldn’t sleep couldn’t eat he kept saying that his family was in danger but he wouldn’t say who was threatening them.
another witness, a psychiatrist, hired by the defense ,testified that stein had been suffering from extreme emotional disturbance at the time of the shooting,he was in a state of panic,the psychiatrist explained.
he believed that his family was in imminate danger and he felt that he had no other choice but to act, but the prosecution wasn’t buying it.
they argued that stein”s actions were calculated, not impulsive, they pointed to the fact that he had brought a gun to the courthouse that day suggesting that he had planned the shooting in advance,they also questioned the credibility of the defense’s witnesses arguing that their testimony was biased in favor of stain.
the tension in the courtroom was palpable as the trial continued, the prosecution called sabrina adkins to the stand, hoping to use her testimony to prove that stein had a motive for the shooting adkins repeated her allegations about the video she had seen,describing in detail the sexual act that had taken place in judge mullins’s chambers
she also testified that stein had been present during sme of these incidents suggesting that he had been complicit in the corruption but the defense was quick to counter.
they argued that adkins testimony was unreliable, pointing out that she had a criminal record and a history of making fals accusations, they also questioned why the video she described had never been found,suggesting that it might not exist at all.
as the trial progressed,the focus shifted to the events of september 19th the prosecution played the the surveillance footage for the jury highlighting the moments leading up to the shooting
they pointed to stein”s calmed demeanor as he pulled the trigger arguing it was evidence of premeditation,but the defense argued y that the footage didn’t tell the whole story,they claimed that stein had been provoked by something mullins said
something that pushed him over the edge.
the defense also called attention to the fact that the surveillance camera in mullins chamber had been installed after the the allegations against ben fields came to light.
they suggested that the camera had been put in place to cover up the corruption not to prevent it,this was a courthouse with secrets ,one of stein’s lawayers argued.
and mickey stein was caught in the middle of it , as the trial neared its conclusion ,the jury was left with a difficlt decision ,was mickey stein a man pushed to the brink by mental illness and fear for his family?
or was he a cold blooded killer who had acted out of anger and revenge the answer would determine not just stein’s fate but a fate of a community still reeling from the scandal
the courtroom was tense as the jury filed back in, their faces unreadable after days of deliberation they had reached the verdict, mickey stein sat at the defense table his hands clasp tightly in front of him
his lawyers fought tirelessly to prove that he was not in his right mind when h shot judge kevin mullins,but ould the jury believe them?
the judge called for order, as ther fourt person stood to deliver the verdict, on the charge of murder in ther first degree the four person began ” we find the defendant, mickey stein not guilty by reason of insanity” gasp filled the room.
stein’s family wept with relief, while mullins loved ones sat in stand silence,the verdict was controversial to say the least ,many believe that stein had gotten away with murder,while others felt that justice had been served,but the story didn’t end there.
in the weeks following the trial, new details emerged about the corruption scandal that had rocked lecter county
investigators finally uncovered the video sabrina adkins had described the one that allegedly showed judges mullins engaging in sexual acts with a women in his chambers.
the video was damning not just for mullins but for others in positions of power who had been involved in the scandal, the fallout was swift.
ben fields the deputy who had been accused of coercing adkins into sex was sentenced to prison
other officials were forced to resign.
and the courthouse underwent a complete overhaul to prevent future abuses of power.
but for mickey stein the victory was bittersweet, allthoug he had been found not guilty by reason of insanity, stein was ordered to undergo psychiatric treatment
he was sent to a secure facility, where he would remain until doctors dtermined that he was no longer a danger to himself or others.
his lawyers argued that he had be an victim of the corruption as much as anyone else but the public remain divided.
stein’s family vistied him regularly,bringing news from the outside world, they told him about the changes that had taken place in lecter county and how the community was slowly healing.
but stein’s mind was still haundted by the events of that fateful day ,he often wondered if he could have done something differently, if he could found another way to protect his family
as the months turned into years stein’s condition improved, he began to open up to his doctors about the paranoia and fear that had consumed him in the days leading up to the shooting
he spook of the pressure he had felt as the county sheriff and the weight of the secret he had uncovered, slowly but surely he started to come to terms wth what he had done.
but the scars remained.
both for stein and for the community he had once served the ,scandal had exposed the dark underbelly of corruption one that would take years to fully heal.
and while the verdict had brought closure for some,it had left others with more questions than answers
years after the trial the smal town of lecter county kentucky still bore the scars of the scandal that had torn it apart
the courthouse , once a symbol of justice and order had become a reminder of the corruption that had festered within its walls.
but amidst the pain and loss ,there were signs of healing and lessons learned,mickey stein remained in the psychiatric facility,his conditions steadily improving,his doctors reproted that he had made significant progress
though they cautioned that his recovery would be a long and difficult journey stein’s family continued to visit him,offering their unwavering support.
they often brought photos of his daughter who had grown into a bright and resilient young women,stein clung to these moments,finding solace in the love of his family
the community worked to rebuild its trust in the justice system, new policies were put in place to ensure transparency and accountability and accountability and the courthouse underwent a complete overhaul
the surveilance cameras that had once been used to cover up corruption were now a tool for preventing it.
the scandal had been a wake up call,forcing the town to confront its flaws and strive for a better future.
but not everyone was ready to move on,judge kevin mullins family continued to gireve his loss,struggling to reconcile the man they had loved with the allegations that had surfaced after his death.
they refused to believe that he had been involved in the scandal,insisting that he had been a victim of fals accusations,for them ,the verdict had been a bitter pill to swallow and they vowed to keep his memory alive.
as for sabrina adkins, she became an unlikely advocate for victims of abuse and corruption,her testimony had been instrumental in exposing the scandal and she used her new found platform to push for change.
she spoke at conferences and rallies,sharing her story and callin g for grater protections for those who dared to speak out against injustice, though her past was far from perfect ,she had found a sense of purpose in the aftermath of the trial.
the case of mickey stein and judge kevin mullins became a cautionary tale,one that was studied in law schools and discussed in legal circles it reaised important questions about mental health,corruption and the limits of the justice system.
it also served a reminder of the human cost of power and greed and the devastating consequences of unchecked ambition.
as the years passed, the town of lecter count ybegan to heal, the courthouse onse a symbol of shame became a beacon of hope a place where justice could be served without fear or favor.
the scandal had left it’s mark,but it had also sparked movement for change,one that would ensure that such a tragedy would never happen again and so… .the story of mickey stein and judge kevin mullins comes to an end, it’s a story of betrayal,corruption and the fragile nature of the human mind.
but i also a story of resilience redemption and the power of truth to bring about change.