LEXINGTON, Ky. — The wife and daughter of former Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines deny any relationship with District Judge Kevin Mullins, according to grand jury transcripts.

Mullins, 54, was shot and killed inside his chambers at the Letcher County Courthouse by Stines Sept. 19, 2024. Stines is charged with murder, and his case remains pending.

Speculation immediately began circulating in the small Eastern Kentucky town that Mullins and Stines’ minor daughter were engaged in a relationship.

But the daughter and Stines’ wife told Kentucky State Police detectives neither ever had a relationship with Mullins, according to grand jury transcripts.

The transcripts were released Wednesday morning as part of a brief filed by Stines’ attorneys that requested his indictment be dismissed. A judge later ordered the pages be sealed.

The Herald-Leader obtained a copy of the documents while they were publicly available through online court records.

Wife, daughter deny any contact with Mullins

State Police Detective Clayton Stamper testified to a grand jury that Stines’ minor daughter denied all allegations of having any contact whatsoever with Mullins.

This includes by way of social media, texts, phone calls or in person.

Stines’ wife, Caroline, also denied rumors she or her daughter were in a relationship with Mullins.

At a preliminary hearing prior to the grand jury hearings, Stamper testified the daughter’s number appeared on Mullins’ phone. But during his grand jury testimony nearly two months later, Stamper testified Stines placed the call to his daughter on Mullins’ phone in the moments leading up to the fatal 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. “(Stines) used the judge’s phone to call (his daughter).”

In video footage of the shooting, Stines appears to ask for Mullins’ phone, and the judge passes his phone to the sheriff. He makes a call on Mullins’ phone, but it’s unknown if anyone answered. The video, previously obtained by the Herald-Leader through the Kentucky Open Records Act, does not have audio.

Stamper said there were no other calls between Stines’ daughter and Mullins.

Jurors asked if additional social media sites, such as SnapChat, were examined for messages. Stamper confirmed there was no evidence of communication between the two.

Stines leaves courthouse, returns after shooting

Stamper’s testimony revealed what occurred after the shooting.

After shooting Mullins inside his chambers, Stines exits the courthouse and calmly walks away from the building, according to Stamper’s testimony.

Authorities were already at the courthouse searching for an active shooter as Stines was leaving the scene. Deputies walked from the sheriff’s office to the courthouse, according to Stamper.

One deputy passed Stines and asked, “Where’s the shooter?”

Stines kept walking in the other direction with a “blank look on his face,” the testimony reads. He did not respond.

“He casually walks in and pretty much casually walks out,” Stamper testified.

Stamper testified surveillance footage shows Stines leave the courthouse and then turn around and return. As officers inside are developing a plan to find the then-unknown shooter, Stines speaks up.

“There’s nobody else,” he said. “It’s me.”

Stamper told jurors Stines placed his pistol on the table. He declined to speak with police.

Stines’ mental state

The same court records placed under seal contained documents from the jail that not Stines was still in “active psychosis” days after the shooting.

But during his November grand jury testimony, Stamper told grand jurors there were no concerns about Stines’ mental state.

During grand jury proceedings, only the prosecution can present evidence. The defense does not get a chance to rebut the presentation.

Stamper testified to medical records from Stines’ primary care doctor, who noted friends were concerned about his level of stress and lack of sleep Sept. 18, 2024, just one day before the shooting.

“The patient was very subdued, but denied any depression, anxiety, psychosis, suicidal or homicidal thoughts,” the doctor wrote.

What wasn’t referenced in Stamper’s grand jury testimony was a medical report written by Leslie County Detention Center staff, which clearly labeled Stines as being in “active psychosis” days after the shooting.

“Upon evaluation of Mr. Stines, it appears that he is still in an active state of psychosis,” the nurse wrote on Sept. 23, 2024. “He appears disoriented and is only aware of things jail staff tell him. He has no recollection of the recent past.”

These documents were completed before Stamper’s grand jury testimony about no mental health concerns.

Stamper also said people interviewed by police said Stines was not acting like himself in the days leading up to the shooting. Some said he was stressed due to a ongoing civil suit unrelated to the judge or his family.

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