This is a true crime in real time update from True Crime Today and the Hidden Killers podcast.

I'm Tony Bruske.

The news was as chilling as it was unprecedented.

A former sheriff, the very person sworn to uphold the law, stood indicted for the murder of a sitting judge, gunned down in his own chambers.

It was a headline that defied belief, a twist so grim it could have been ripped from a

dark crime novel. Sean Mickey Stein's, once a trusted figure in southeastern Kentucky,

now faced the possibility of the death penalty for the murder of district judge Kevin

Mullins, a crime caught on tape,

but still shrouded in mystery. Two months had passed since that fateful September day,

yet the shockwaves reverberated through Letcher County and beyond. In a tiny Appalachian town

where everyone seemed to know everyone else, the brutal killing of Mullins had become an unshakable

wound. He had been the quiet, steady hand of justice in Weitzburg for 15 years. Then one sunny

afternoon, the man he once called Sheriff entered his chambers and pulled the trigger not once,

but twice. The video, silent but damning, showed the grim sequence of events.

Steins, wearing a calm demeanor, approached Mullins' desk. After a brief exchange, he drew his gun

and fired. Mullins fell to the floor, lifeless, but it wasn't over. Steins circled the desk,

stood over the judge's motionless body, and fired again.

In those haunting moments, the sanctity of a courthouse, meant to be a bastion of justice and order,

was shattered.

At a hearing last month, the footage was played for a hushed courtroom.

The silent video spoke volumes.

Gasps and sobs punctuated the room

...