A judge who was gunned down in his courthouse chambers was remembered for his public service as mourners looked for answers to unravel a mystery still shaking their tiny Appalachian town — why their popular sheriff is behind bars and charged with murder.

The preliminary investigation indicates Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines shot District Judge Kevin Mullins multiple times following an argument inside the courthouse, according to Kentucky State Police. Mullins, who held the judgeship for 15 years, died at the scene, and Stines surrendered without incident

They'd been friends for years and were two well-known elected officials. So why would Letcher County's sheriff shoot its only judge in the courthouse?

A rural Kentucky town is now at the center of national headlines after police say the local sheriff shot and killed a district judge.

As residents of a small town in southeast Kentucky mourn the loss of a prominent district judge, they’re looking for answers about the argument that authorities say led up to his killing inside the judge’s chambers and the sheriff’s arrest in his death.

A Kentucky judge whom authorities said was fatally shot by a sheriff last week was remembered Sunday as a pioneer who fought against opioid addiction and favored treatment over jail for low-level drug offenders.