Sheriff’s Daughter Says She Never Knew Slain Judge — Earlier, Police Noted Her Number in His Phone

The daughter of a former Kentucky sheriff accused of killing a district judge has denied having any relationship with the slain judge, according to grand jury transcripts.

Former Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines has been charged with murder in the Sept. 19, 2024, killing of 54-year-old District Judge Kevin Mullins inside the judge’s chambers in Whitesburg, Kentucky.

The shooting, which was caught on video, showed Stines firing several times at Mullins while he sat at his desk, and then firing again after the judge fell to the floor.

Kentucky State Police Detective Clayton Stamper told a grand jury that rumors had spread in the community about Mullins possibly being involved with Stines’ teenage daughter. But transcripts show Stines’ daughter “denied any allegations of having any contact whatsoever” with Mullins — not in person, through social media, text messages, or phone calls.

“By social media, by text, by phone, in person; any kind of contact whatsoever, she denied it,” Stamper said. “That was all just a rumor.”

Investigators also found no phone records showing calls between Mullins and Stines’ daughter, Stamper testified.

There were also rumors that Stines’ wife might have had some type of relationship with Mullins, but she denied those claims as well.

According to testimony, Stines used Mullins’ phone to call his daughter right before the shooting. “Sheriff Stines used Judge Mullins’ phone while he’s sitting in the chair in front of Judge Mullins’ desk to call his own daughter,” Stamper testified.

Stamper also said there was “no phone contact whatsoever” between Mullins and the daughter. At a previous hearing, however, Stamper testified that the judge’s phone showed her number, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.

Some of the grand jury testimony was released on Sept. 3 as part of a defense motion to dismiss the indictment, though a judge sealed the full record that same day.

After the shooting, Stines walked out of the courthouse before returning to turn himself in. “Sheriff Stines walked in right behind [law enforcement] and he said basically words to the effect of, there’s nobody else, it was me,” Stamper testified. He then reportedly placed his gun on a table inside the courthouse.

Stamper also testified that Stines said something like, “They’re trying to kidnap my wife and kid,” before he was arrested and handcuffed.

Stines’ lawyers admit he pulled the trigger but say they plan to argue insanity and extreme emotional disturbance.

“We’re confident that there will be evidence that his mental health was impaired,” defense attorney Jeremy Bartley told PEOPLE. “It’s a tragic situation all around.”

The case has shaken Letcher County, where Stines and Mullins had been longtime friends and colleagues. Stines previously worked as a bailiff in Mullins’ courtroom before becoming sheriff in 2018, according to the Louisville Courier Journal.