Surveillance footage shows Sheriff Shawn "Mickey" Stines exchanging cell phones with Judge Kevin Mullins moments before fatally shooting Mullins in his Whitesburg, Kentucky, court chambers. (Kentucky State Police)
FIRST ON FOX: Fox News Digital has obtained surveillance footage showing the moments leading up to former Letcher County, Kentucky Sheriff Shawn "Mickey" Stines' suspected murder of former Kentucky 47th Judicial District Judge Kevin Mullins as Stines' attorney shared a motive for the shooting.
The pair, who had known each other for years before the unforeseen Sept. 19, 2024 killing that rocked the tiny town of Whitesburg, had spoken in the judge's chambers and gone out to lunch together with a group of friends and coworkers in the hours leading up to the shooting.
In the surveillance video taken from Mullins' chambers, a group of people, some of whom had been at lunch with Stines and Mullins earlier in the day at StreetSide Grill & Bar within walking distance of the court and county jail, could be seen cordially chatting with the judge for more than 12 minutes.
Judge Kevin Mullins hands his phone over to Sheriff Mickey Stines shortly before being shot dead in his own chambers. (Kentucky State Police)
KENTUCKY SHERIFF SEEN IN FOOTAGE SHOOTING AT JUDGE IN SHOCKING PRELIMINARY HEARING
Thereafter, Stines entered Mullins' chambers and cleared the room to speak with the judge privately.
"When I'm seeing the sheriff, it's interesting to watch him because he was ready to go the minute he walked in," consultant, author and body language expert Susan Constantine told Fox News Digital. "He was contemplating it, he was shuffling his feet, [and] had his hands in his pockets."
Meanwhile, she noted that Mullins looked despondent, and almost unaware of Stines' presence.
In the next seven minutes, Stines and Mullins talked privately before Stines stood up and seemingly locked the door of the chambers.
"[Stines] sits down, wants to have a conversation with the judge," Constantine said. "The judge is very nonchalant, very carefree. Doesn't seem to be rattled by a lot. Seems to be very, what I would say is just unremarkable.
FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X
District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, was killed by Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines, 43, in his judge's chambers, authorities said. (Kentucky Court of Justice; Letcher County Sheriff's Office)
"And then we've got the sheriff, [he] leans in," she said. "Then he's obviously got something on his mind because he's in an action stance."
"I think the fact that [Mullins] is shrugging it off, I think that created more angst towards the judge because he wasn't taking it seriously, whatever was being spoken about, and he's kind of playing it off like it wasn't a big deal," she said. "And the more he played it out, 'this is not a big deal,' the more angry Stines became."
Mullins then handed his phone over to Stines, a rumored but never-before-seen event that has led to a great deal of speculation among true crime pundits and internet sleuths alike.
After looking through the judge's phone, Stines placed a call that went unanswered before he tossed the phone back onto the judge's desk.
He then allegedly stood up, unholstered his pistol, and moved menacingly toward Mullins before opening fire at point-blank range, killing the judge.
Former Letcher County Sheriff Shawn "Mickey" Stines can be seen pointing his gun at District Court Judge Kevin Mullins. (Letcher County Handout)
NEW VIDEO SHOWS KENTUCKY SHERIFF POINTING GUN AT JUDGE BEFORE ALLEGED FATAL SHOOTING
Constantine said the judge didn't appear to believe he was in imminent danger until seconds before the shooting.
"The judge is kind of going, 'what are you doing?' Put the gun down," she said. "Just kind of using his hand gestures, kind of flinging him out, like, 'what are you doing?' This doesn't make any sense."
"And then all of a sudden, there's something that the sheriff must have said," Contantine said. "And all of a sudden, then he goes into protection, right? Both palms are up. 'What are you doing? Stop. Don't do this.' Now he's in self-protection mode. And that's when [Stines] got him, when he was the weakest. Because both hands are up. And that's when he went in for the shot."
Constantine does not believe that the crime was committed in the heat of the moment, as Stines' attorneys are prepared to argue.
"I think that was already pre-planned, [a] preeminent attack that was going to take place," she said.
SIGN UP TO GET THE TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER
In a Monday phone interview with Fox News Digital, Stines' attorney Jeremy Bartley and his wife and co-counsel Kerri Bartley put to bed online rumors about the phone exchange, and explained the defense's version of events in the days leading up to the shooting.
"[Stines] had attempted multiple times to contact his daughter throughout the day, and including the time while he was in chambers, and he tried to contact her from the judge's phone," Jeremy Bartley said.
Defense attorney Jeremy Bartley asked questions of Kentucky State Police Detective Clayton Stamper at Shawn "Mickey" Stines preliminary hearing at Morgan County District Court, Oct. 1, 2024. (Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
He also noted that Stines received a call from his aunt while he was in the judge's chambers.
Bartley said that the phone exchange had nothing to do with any relationship between the judge and his daughter, as has been speculated.
Rather, he said Stines was experiencing increased paranoia that his family was in danger in the period leading up to the shooting, due to a civil lawsuit in which he was named and deposed.
"Specifically, in the approximate two-week period prior to the incident in the judge's chambers, pretty much all the witnesses the investigators talked to support what those close to Mickey had said as well," Bartley said. "And that's simply this: Mickey had become extremely paranoid. He'd become sleepless, basically wasn't sleeping. [He] slept little, if at all. He had sort of become withdrawn. And you know, it was of such a