Sheriff Mickey Stines Case FROZEN: Defense Wants Judge Removed After Hidden Video Surfaces
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
True Crime Today
3.3 • 907 Ratings
🗓️ 8 January 2026
⏱️ 21 minutes
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Summary
A video that nobody knew existed has thrown the Mickey Stines murder case into chaos. According to a defense motion filed December 29th, Special Judge Christopher Cohron was captured on video sitting next to Judge Kevin Mullins — the man Stines is accused of killing — at a mental health commission meeting just one week before the shooting. Mullins' widow was reportedly in the room. Cohron allegedly never disclosed any of this to the parties.
Now the defense is demanding Cohron recuse himself, arguing his impartiality cannot be trusted in a case where mental health is literally the entire defense. Stines' attorneys have already watched Cohron deny their motion to unseal the psychiatric evaluation and block them from using it at the bond hearing. They're connecting those rulings to the video — and asking whether a reasonable observer could see this as anything other than bias.
The December 18th hearing was supposed to address bond and venue. It lasted minutes. Cohron said there was an "issue" and adjourned. Eleven days later, we found out the issue was him.
Stines remains in jail — over fifteen months now — with no bond, no trial date, and no official motive. The prosecution still hasn't said whether they're seeking death. And now everything waits on one question: Does Cohron step aside, or does this fight go to the Chief Justice?
We break down the recusal motion, the legal standard, and what's likely to happen next in a case that can't seem to get out of its own way.
#MickeyStines #KevinMullins #HiddenKillers #TrueCrimePodcast #LetherCounty #KentuckyCrime #JudgeRecusal #CourthouseMurder #InsanityDefense #ShawnStines
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is Hidden Killers with Tony Bruske. |
| 0:03.2 | Here now, Tony Bruske. |
| 0:06.1 | We already kind of knew things were a little off in the courthouse of former judge Kevin Mullins. |
| 0:17.4 | You know, a lot of accusations, lots of stories, lots of, lots of stuff that went on in that building before this tragedy took place. |
| 0:33.1 | And after way before, I mean, there's just a lot there, a place that one may say may not be an appropriate setting to try the very case in. |
| 0:44.9 | And here's another reason for that. |
| 0:48.0 | A week before Kevin Mullins was shot to death in his own chambers, he was sitting inches away from the man who would eventually be assigned to judge his killer. |
| 0:58.9 | Yeah. |
| 1:00.5 | Little conflict of interest there. |
| 1:03.3 | They were at a Kentucky judicial commission on mental health. |
| 1:08.2 | Yeah. |
| 1:09.0 | A room full of judges and court officials discussing how the system handles people |
| 1:12.8 | in psychological crisis. Yeah, the irony is insane. Mullins was presenting on his work with |
| 1:20.6 | women with dignity, bills, talking about recovery courts and expungent efforts in Whitesburg, |
| 1:28.8 | laying out his professional schedule for the week ahead. |
| 1:31.3 | According to the defense motion filed last week, |
| 1:33.9 | special judge Christopher Crone was right there next to him for roughly two hours, |
| 1:39.9 | and at one point they claim he appears to nod an approval with Mullins discussing an upcoming event at the district judge's college. |
| 1:49.6 | Mullins window, widow, was in the room, too. |
| 1:53.6 | The whole thing was recorded. |
| 1:56.1 | One would think that, you know, when this case gets sent to you, like, you might say, I got to recuse |
| 2:01.4 | myself right now. Oh, but no, wait. It's taking the defense. It's taking the public to go, |
... |
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