Mickey Stines just admitted in court filings that he shot and killed Judge Kevin Mullins. Nine bullets. Seven of them fired while the judge was already on the ground. It's all on video. But now Stines is claiming he "had no control" over his actions—and his defense is pointing to a rare neurological disease caused by bug bites as part of the explanation.

For over a year, no one could explain why a Kentucky sheriff walked into a judge's chambers and executed a man he'd worked with for decades. They'd eaten lunch together that same day. Stines used to be Mullins' bailiff. And then, after a seven-minute private conversation, Stines locked the door and opened fire.

Now court documents reveal what was happening to Stines in the days before the shooting. He'd lost 40 pounds in two weeks. He was making phone calls to dead relatives. He told staff that shadowy forces were coming to kill his wife and daughter. He made someone put a bulletproof vest on his wife. His own employees believed he was in a psychosis. An attorney warned the judge directly that Stines was "losing it." The local police chief said he'd "lost his mind."

But here's the problem: the day before the shooting, Stines saw a doctor. And according to medical records, he denied experiencing any psychosis or homicidal thoughts. The doctor diagnosed "acute stress reaction" and sent him home. Twenty-four hours later, Kevin Mullins was dead.

Now Stines is building an insanity defense that includes claims of California encephalitis—a tick-borne illness that can cause confusion and aggression. Whether that's a legitimate diagnosis or a legal strategy remains to be seen. What's clear is that this case is about to get a lot more complicated.

#MickeyStines #JudgeKevinMullins #Letcher County #KentuckySheriff #CourthouseShooting #TrueCrime #InsanityDefense #CaliforniaEncephalitis #TrueCrime2025 #JusticeForMullins

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