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Now, a special [music] two-part edition of 48 Hours. murderers come in all shapes and sizes
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and ages. Didn't matter how [music] young she was, how pretty she was, how smart she was,
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she wanted to kill him. She intended to kill him. >> Kim County 911. >> Ma'am, I have a call. I I killed my
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boyfriend in self-defense. >> Okay. Where are you? >> I'm standing about 10 ft from his dead
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body. >> Okay. >> On October 12th of 2012, which was a Friday night, Shanny Ubers had called
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the police and said that she had killed her boyfriend in self-defense. I went immediately to the Highland
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Heights Police Department. >> You want something to drink? You want some water? >> She had already been transported there
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by the first responders to the scene. >> Okay. What was his name? >> The man that I killed her,
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>> Ryan Carter Poston. >> Ryan Poston in 2012 was a 29-year-old lawyer. He did mostly civil law.
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He was very successful. Um had a very good practice. >> Smart. Oh, so smart. When he walked into
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a room, he immediately demanded attention [music] and he got it. He was a very good-looking guy. And [music] he
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had a very big heart. >> And your name is Shaya. >> Shaya Huber. Shaina at the time was a 21-year-old
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recently graduated college student from uh the University of Kentucky with a psychology degree. Very very bright,
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smart individual and and obviously she was very pretty too. They were together for a few months at a time and then they
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were apart for some time period. >> To say that their relationship was on and off would probably be an
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understatement. It was a roller coaster. He was throwing me around the room like
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picking me up and like had my face and stuff. >> I was in an adjoining room with a video
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monitor so I was watching this live. >> Pulled me by the ponytail of my hair >> and she talked non-stop.
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>> If you go to jail, are you allowed to keep your phone >> hour after hour? >> I knew he was violent. I knew he was
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crazy. >> 2 hours and 40 something minutes, I believe. >> I had my head banged into a few
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different things tonight. The facts and the evidence did not support her claim of self-defense.
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>> Picking me up and throwing me against the bookshelf and calling me a hillbilly.
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>> My [music] name is Michelle Snodgra. I am the prosecutor in the case against Shaina Hubers. [laughter]
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>> I really love her. >> She was putting on a show. She was dancing. >> She was laughing. She was snapping her
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fingers and saying, "I did it. >> I did. >> Yes, I did." >> It was like an [music] evening with
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Shaina Hubers like on Broadway. >> I have never seen someone who was [music] so desperate to tell her story
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to anyone who would listen. >> Can I talk to you? Can I have somebody to talk to?
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I never saw one emotion that would have indicated remorse. >> He had guns laying on the table.
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>> If she [music] was that afraid, she could go out the door. >> Is your daughter a murderer?
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>> Shaina Hubers is not a murderer. No, she is not. >> [music] >> Are [snorts] you sure that he is dead?
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He's dead, man. He's completely dead. >> Okay. >> I think about him every day. You don't think something like that is
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ever going to happen to someone, you know. >> Matt Herren still struggles to make
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sense of what happened the night of October 12th, 2012 when his close friend Ryan Poston was killed.
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>> Is there something I could have done that could have prevented that? And I know a lot of people in his life had to
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have felt the same way. >> How did things spiral so out of control between Ryan and his girlfriend Shaina
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Hubers that she shot him to death, insisting it was to protect herself? >> What was lost when your friend was shot
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and killed? He's the type of person that you want in your life. Not just a friend, but a loving son,
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a protective, adoring older brother. He had three younger sisters that he absolutely adored.
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>> Ryan's family was close-knit, even though his parents divorced when he was little. He was extremely close to his
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father Jay Poston. And when his mother remarried to Peter Carter, Ryan thought of him as a second father.
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>> He had two men who loved him like a son. He wanted to express how big of a role
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both of those men played in his life. So he had his middle name legally changed to Carter. He was very proud of that.
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What did he want to do and what did you see him doing in the years ahead? >> You know, I used to joke that I would
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run his first political campaign for him for free. >> Hi, baby. >> Sarah Robinson, who grew up with Shaina
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in Lexington, Kentucky, says Shaina's future seemed promising as well. >> And how smart was she?
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>> I thought she was close to genius in my opinion. I mean, she always was in AP
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classes, always getting A's and everything. >> Shaina received countless awards for
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academic excellence and leadership. >> She liked to succeed at anything and everything that she did.
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>> And that included music and drama. >> Was she a good actress? >> She thought she was.
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>> Sarah says back in high school, Shaina also had a real flare for the dramatic
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when it came to boys. if a guy like broke up with her or something or if a guy just said they weren't interested in
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her, she would take it pretty hard, crying and maybe a little screaming. She didn't really like to let things go.
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>> It was a sight of Shaina Ryan would come to know all too well. Shaina went to school in Lexington, more
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than 80 miles away from Ryan's condo in Highland Heights. The two probably never
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would have met if it weren't for Facebook. He spotted provocative photos of her and they started dating in the
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spring of 2011. He was 28 and a lawyer. She was 19 and a college student. And was she happy?
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>> Um, yeah. She seemed to be happy. I mean, she never said that there was anything wrong in the relationship. She
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was just always there. But according to Ryan's friend, Ally Wagner, there was plenty wrong right from the start.
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>> How did Shaina react when she first met you? She was so cold. You could just immediately tell that she was just
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obsessed with him. I think she had a goal in the beginning to make him settle down with her. And when she wasn't
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becoming successful, that became a problem. >> He was very busy with work. He wasn't
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really looking for anyone. He had tried to end things uh a few times. >> But Ryan was having a tough time getting
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Shaina to let go. Shaina admitted in a text to a friend. He says he's only with me because I make him feel so awful
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about it when I cry. >> He didn't want to hurt her feelings. Unfortunately, she just refused to take
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no for an answer. And so the two were on again, off again [music] for 18 months.
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>> She would come by his place when she was in town >> to show up unannounced. >> Absolutely.
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>> As Shaina became more possessive, Ryan's exasperation and concern grew. In a text
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to his cousin, he wrote, "This is getting to be restraining order level crazy. She shown up at my condo like
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three times and refuses to leave each time. He also complained about Shaina's obsessive behavior in a Facebook message
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to Ally. >> Literally probably the craziest person I have ever met. She almost scares me. I
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wish I had said if she scares you or if she's crazy, just walk away. >> Instead, he kept taking her back.
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>> I think it was playing mind games with her. Ryan's neighbor, Nikki KS, claims
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there's another side to this turbulent relationship. Shaina complained to her that Ryan was emotionally abusive.
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>> She would always tell me that he would say she needed a boob job or a face lift
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and um that she was fat. She needed to lose some weight. >> Why wouldn't she have left?
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>> I guess because she was young and she always told me she loved him. She picked
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up his laundry. She did his laundry. She took his dog out. Um, she went and bought him food. She did everything for
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him. >> Could there have been a Ryan that you didn't know? >> No. >> Someone that had a dark side?
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>> No. In the 10 years I knew him, never once raised his voice. He's always been
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the same. Super nerdy, super sweet. Ryan hoped Shaina had finally gotten the message when he told her he wasn't going
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to see her that weekend of October 12th, 2012. What he didn't tell her was that he had
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a date with a worldass beauty. >> Ohio Audrey Boly, Miss Ohio USA 2012, whom he also met on Facebook. But he did tell
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Ally, a former beauty pageant contestant herself, who knew Audrey. >> She's very beautiful, very personable,
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and all that kind of stuff. So Ryan was the perfect match for her. He was really
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excited to go. >> Ryan and Miss Ohio were supposed to meet at a bar that Friday night,
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but Shaina showed up at his condo, and Ryan never made it. He beat me and tried to carry me out of
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the house and I came back in to get my things and he was right in front of me and he reached down and grabbed the gun
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and I grabbed it out of his hands and pulled pull the trigger. >> And how long ago did you shoot him?
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>> I don't know 15 10 15 minutes. Not even that long >> 10 or 15 minutes ago. >> Yeah.
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>> Someone shooting someone and then waiting 15 minutes to call. That in itself was bizarre.
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Lieutenant Dave Fornach and his partner were the first to arrive on the scene. >> I want you to go to your front door. I
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want you to open it up. Walk outside the door with your hands in front of you. >> Okay, I will. In your hand,
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>> we instruct her to get on the ground. As I entered the apartment, I saw Ryan Poston's body on the floor in the dining
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room behind the dining room table. >> Police escorted Shaina to the station knowing she had shot Ryan to death. and
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I picked up the gun. >> But was it to save her life? Or had she entered Ryan's condo [music] with a plan
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to take his even seasoned investigators could never have imagined what would unfold in the
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hours after Shane Hubers killed Ryan Poston. >> It was crazy. You just wouldn't believe
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it. From the moment Lieutenant Dave Fornash brought her into that interrogation room, Shaina's behavior was bizarre.
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>> Do you smoke? >> I will if I can. >> As he started to leave, she started making noise as if she was crying or
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trying to cry or wailing. >> I'm leaving just a second. You're fine. >> As soon as he walked out of the room,
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she stopped immediately. >> Police Chief Bill Burkenhower was immediately suspicious.
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>> Like a light switch. Exactly. >> And what are you thinking when you see that?
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>> Right off the bat, I'm thinking that she's, you know, pretending. She wasn't crying. No tears came out of her eyes.
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>> Says, "You have the right to remain silent." >> Shaina was then read her rights and
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although she asked to see a lawyer, >> I do want an attorney. >> Okay. So, I can't ask you any questions
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at all. >> She found it impossible. >> I was so out of it. >> To remain silent. >> I was like, "Is this self-defense
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killed? And can you come to the scene?" Shaina talked constantly. >> I was raised really really Christian and
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murder is a sin. >> It just seemed like she was constantly just babbling. >> You have very pretty teeth. Did you have
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an orthodontia? >> She talked so much that the officers were wanting to leave the room.
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>> I had to go to jail. Can you shower there or do you just get really dirty? >> They were switching off so they wouldn't
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get burned out. >> What are they going to do with me? >> I don't know. They told me they can't
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come here and sit with you. >> For almost 3 hours, Shaina told anyone who would listen about an alleged
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history of abuse by Ryan. >> He's pulled guns on me as jokes before. >> Leading up to a fight in which she says
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she feared for her life. >> And I shot him in self-defense because he's done stuff before where I've hit my
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head on a headboard, >> okay, >> and could have died. But the more she talked, the more her
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words would come back to haunt her. >> This story never stayed the same. >> Beginning with exactly how Ryan's gun
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ended up in her hands. >> He was screaming at me, telling me I was Ellie that he hates me.
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>> By all accounts, Ryan, who owns several guns and was licensed to carry, had a
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habit of placing his handgun on the dining room table after coming home from work.
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and I just picked up the gun and in the middle of him doing something with his arm or saying
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something crazy, shot him. >> This time she told police that she picked up the gun off the table while
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Ryan was yelling at her. But remember, Shaina had told the 911 operator a different story about wrestling the gun
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away from him. and he reached down and grabbed the gun and I grabbed it out of his hand and pulled the pulled the
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trigger. >> But Shaina didn't stop at one bullet. As she described the final moments of
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Ryan's life, the details were beyond disturbing. >> And he was laying with his face on the table
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like twitching. And so I knew he was going to die. I walked around the table and I think that's when I shot him
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in the head. I shot him probably six times. Shot him in the head. He fell on the ground. He was like laying like
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this. His glasses were still on. He was twitching some more. I shot him a couple
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more times just to make sure he was sad cuz I didn't want to watch him die. >> She didn't say that she was worried
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about him suffering. She said that she couldn't stand to see that is why [music] she finished him
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off. If someone's wounded on the ground, someone that you love, wouldn't you attempt to resuscitate to save rather
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than shoot him or call 911? >> Instead, Shaina admitted she waited at least 10 minutes to call for help.
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>> If we were to pause right now for 10 minutes, it would be interminable to this audience how long a period of time
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that is. and she's not calling 911. Why do you believe that's the case? >> If he was to live, then he would have a
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story to tell. He was helpless. >> Prosecutor Michelle Snodgrass. >> He laid there helpless and she walked
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over and shot him again and again and again. That's not self-defense. >> I knew he was going to die or have a
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completely deformed face. He's very vain and wants to get a nose job off. just that kind of person. And I shot him
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right here. I gave him his nose job. He wanted >> My jaw hit the floor and I said to
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myself, "Did she really say that?" >> And Shaina had plenty more to say. >> I did. Yeah, I did.
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>> Even when Shaina wasn't speaking, her actions spoke volumes to the investigators who were watching from the
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other room. Not only did she dance and twirl, She even sang Amazing Grace. >> How do you respond to what we're looking
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at here is a woman in shock. >> Someone who is in shock does not piouette. Within hours of putting six bullets into
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Ryan Poston and watching him die, she danced and sang. Here's what's going to happen right now,
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Shaya. Okay. With everything that we have, um, we're going to I'm going to char I'm going have to charge you with
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murder. >> Shaina Hubers was arrested for murder. >> What degree? >> Murder. There's no degree.
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>> Ryan had been shot six times. >> Pretty much every side of his body he'd been shot at.
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>> Doesn't that fit someone who fears for her life at that moment that she's being
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attacked, that she has to use excessive force to put down the threat? It it it more likely indicates somebody who's
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very angry. >> The investigation was far from over. Shaina claims Ryan had a dangerous
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temper and she can prove it. The chessboard today is how it was on the day Ryan died midame
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with the pieces unchanged from where it was then. >> Ryan Poston's friend, mentor, and chess
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rival attorney Ken Holly relished those competitive matches that would sometimes
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stretch out over days. and I haven't been able to let it go really. >> But now that chessboard sits in his
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office, frozen in place, a metaphor for a life cut short. >> When somebody is erased at an early age
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like that and you know what has the world lost by not having the benefit of what they would have come to be? Ken and
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his legal assistant, Lorie [music] Zimmerman, had offices in the same building as Ryan. They witnessed
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Shaina's obsessive behavior and the toll it took on him. >> If she couldn't get him on his cell
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phone, she'd call the receptionist and ask for him or she'd show up here. Um, I mean, it was relentless.
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>> She would text him 50 to 100 times a day. She would just wear him down and exhaust him to the point where he would
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say, "Okay, Shaina." And he just kept doing the easy thing, which was staying with her.
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>> When Ryan left work for the last time the evening of October 12th, 2012, he told Lorie about his big date,
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>> and he said with a big smile on his face, "I have a date with Miss Ohio tonight."
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>> Ohio. His news gave Lori an uneasy feeling about Shaina. >> And I said, I I'm very nervous about
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what you're doing tonight because I who knows what Shaina will do. You need to get her gone. I need you to call the
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police. I need you to call a locksmith. I need you to make it very final. And and that was when he said, "Hey, Lori,
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I've got this. Don't you worry about me." >> Hours later, Ryan was dead. I knew she was a stalker. I thought that
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she was perfectly capable of causing a scene, but murder. What do you think happened the night he died?
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>> I think that she went over there, tried to talk him out of breaking up with her.
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>> Ryan's friend, Ally Wagner, >> and I think he just stood his ground for the first time. I think he just said,
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"No, like this isn't working." I think she picked up the gun and shot him. >> In her mind, this was a failure of
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sorts. And Shaya didn't fail. Shaina Hubers is someone who is used to getting her way.
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>> The movie Fatal Attraction comes to mind. >> You won't answer my calls. You change
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your number. I mean, I'm not going to be ignored. Dan, >> he was trying to break up with her, and
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I think that Shaina was not going to be broken up with. Chief Burkenhower says the proof is in an astonishing trove of
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texts and emails investigators discovered in numbers unlike anything they'd ever seen.
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>> Hundreds of thousands of messages. >> Hundreds of thousands. >> Yes. And most of the messages were from
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Shaina. For every one message Ryan sent, she probably sent 50. She couldn't stop
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herself. Here it was, a look inside this tortured relationship. Back in February of 2012, 8 months
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before Ryan's death, he wrote Shaina, "You can tell people you broke up with me." Part of her reply, "I love you
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dearly, far more than you deserve." Then in March, Ryan pleaded, "Shaina, stop texting me." And in April, he texted, "I
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no longer have the patience to deal with you." >> Now, Ryan's a bright guy. He's a lawyer.
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Why didn't he get a restraining order? >> Well, under the law in Kentucky, he didn't qualify for a restraining order.
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The law in Kentucky basically requires the two to have been living together or to have been married.
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>> Instead, Ryan tried to take matters into his own hands. Another text in April.
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this time from Ryan to his cousin. She came to my place on Sunday morning and I literally had to pick her up and throw
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her into the hall. Still, Ryan just couldn't close the door on their relationship.
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The two were back together that summer, [music] but things soured again in late August. And Ryan texts Shaina, "I'm
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turning off the phone and padlocking the door." And then she keeps texting. And there were at least 100 messages until
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finally it's some 9 hours later under this barrage. Ryan says, "I'm not reading any of these. Stop." What does
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that tell you about Shaina's behavior? >> Well, this goes back to she's obsessed
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with Ryan Poston. >> Shaina once again showed up at his door. She had her own key. Ryan had to leave
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his own condo and leave Shane in there and go spend the night with his father because she would not leave and she
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continued arguing with him. >> While the prosecution insists Ryan was the one being stalked and living [music]
00:25:41
in fear. >> Shaina told police that at times she was also afraid of him. >> The guns. He keeps loaded guns in the
00:25:50
house. Has picked up a gun, pointed at my face as a joke. What would you do if I
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>> A lot of information is going to come out about this relationship and about what happened that night.
00:26:01
>> Defense attorney John Paul Ryan. >> This was not a case of anything but self-defense. This is a case where
00:26:08
Shaina was acting to save her own dignity and her own safety. The defense team claims there are plenty
00:26:17
of Facebook messages Ryan sent his friends that show he was a young man consumed by anger. He'd had a falling
00:26:26
out with his ex-law partner who was suing him. >> August 16th, 2012, less than two months
00:26:32
before he was shot and killed. He says, "And I want to rig explosives to everything I see." Well, I don't think
00:26:40
anybody's denying that Ryan wasn't going through an emotional time. He was upset
00:26:46
about being sued by his former law partner. His rage was never in any of these messages directed at Shaina
00:26:54
Hubers. Not one. >> October 4th, 2012, Ryan writes this. There's nothing I want more than to just
00:27:02
scorch the effing earth and leave this entire city in a pile of burnt rubble. He's fantasizing about doing a violent
00:27:11
act. And just days later, according to Shaina, he attacks her. >> But that wasn't a violent act directed
00:27:18
to any person. And you have to put it in context. He does not say he wants to hurt a person.
00:27:23
>> Pressure is building up. He's got a girlfriend that won't let go. He finally snaps. Why shouldn't we believe that?
00:27:31
>> There's no evidence at the crime scene to indicate that Ryan Poston went after
00:27:35
Shane Ubers. Nothing was knocked over. No signs of a struggle. >> None. >> Are you buying this notion of
00:27:42
self-defense at all? >> Not one bit. Not one bit. >> These photos [music] of Shaina taken
00:27:49
after her arrest show some light bruising, but police still insist there's no evidence of a life or death struggle.
00:27:59
Now, the young woman suspected of cold-blooded murder heads to court to ask a judge to let her out of jail.
00:28:07
[music] This case was always to me about a [music] senseless act. senseless. Could
00:28:28
never quite make sense of what [music] happened on October 12th. I could never make sense of why Ryan Poston's life was
00:28:35
ended. >> Why couldn't Shaina Hubers, a brilliant and [music] beautiful grad student,
00:28:43
simply walk away from her troubled relationship with Ryan Poston? >> I think it's really sad. It's just it's
00:28:53
kind of heartbreaking. Shaina's childhood friend, Sarah Robinson, barely recognizes the sweet, kind-hearted girl
00:29:00
she once knew. >> I saw a mug shot. That was I think the first thing that I saw that really made
00:29:08
me take a step back and just be like, "Oh my god." >> What did it look like? >> It looked like someone was who was angry
00:29:16
and like someone who had just been through hell. >> It is June 10th, 2014. Almost two years
00:29:24
since Ryan's death, Shaina has remained in jail the entire time. She has hired a
00:29:30
new defense team led by David Mahia. At a bail hearing, they are joined by Shaina's mother, Sharon Hubers.
00:29:39
>> Shaina was in the gifted and talented program in the >> Sharon, a retired school teacher, is
00:29:46
proud of her child's academic success. She graduated kum lad in three years at the University of Kentucky. Shaina was
00:29:56
pursuing a master's degree in school guidance counseling at the time of this tragedy.
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>> And what do you want people to know after reading that? What do you want them to know in relation to this case?
00:30:08
Shaina Hubers is not a child, a girl, a person that would murder someone that would
00:30:20
wake up and say, "Okay, I'm going to shoot somebody. And I want the world to know who Shaina is, and I want them to
00:30:28
hear it from her mother." Through Sharon's testimony, we also learn about the 24 hours leading up to
00:30:36
Ryan's death. Thursday, October 11th, 2012, the night before Ryan died. >> Welcome to the first and only vice
00:30:47
presidential debate. >> The vice presidential candidates were slugging it out in a televised debate.
00:30:54
>> Ryan brought Shaina over to his mother and stepfather's place to watch it. and
00:30:59
then she slept over at his condo. >> He wants to break up with her. Talk about mixed signals. Why is she staying
00:31:09
the night at his place? >> That is a question that I think a lot of people want an answer to. I don't know
00:31:15
if it was part of Ryan's attempt to let her down easy. I I just don't know. >> Ryan had already said he didn't want to
00:31:24
see her that weekend. Perhaps that's why a distraught Shaina called her mother from Ryan's shortly after 3:00 a.m.
00:31:33
>> Was she emotional, upset? >> Yes, she she wanted mama. And yes, she was. I knew something was wrong.
00:31:41
>> Sharon says she met up with her daughter at Ryan's place around [music] 5:30 that
00:31:46
morning. >> When he woke up, he saw that Shaina Huber's mom was inside his condo.
00:31:54
Shaina's mom was inside his condo. >> Absolutely. >> Had come in on her own >> in the middle of the night. Had driven
00:32:00
from Lexington to sit with her daughter. >> She wanted to lay on the couch and put
00:32:07
her feet in my lap. And she did. >> Shaina's relationship with her mother. What was that like?
00:32:15
>> I think she was very close to her mom. I think her mom for a good portion of her
00:32:19
life could have very well been her best friend. That child has been a blessing to me. She's my whole life.
00:32:26
>> Sharon Hubers would like her daughter to be released to her custody, but prosecutor Michelle Snodgrass believes
00:32:33
Shaina is a flight risk because of what she told police. >> Part of me wanted to get my keys and get
00:32:39
in my car and leave because I knew my word against his and he's dead. You know, how is anyone else
00:32:47
to know that it's self-defense? To get bail, Shaina needs to convince the judge that she's not a flight risk and despite
00:32:55
shooting Ryan, not a threat to society. On the stand, she paints a picture of herself as a model girlfriend.
00:33:04
>> Ryan was going through a lot and he needed moral support and I was always good to him.
00:33:10
>> But she also suggests she had a reason to fear him, claiming Ryan was obsessed
00:33:16
with guns. Wherever you were in the house, you were always at an arm's length from a gun or a weapon of some
00:33:22
sort. And >> that concerned you? >> Oh, yes. You know, just laying everywhere. He'd pick one up and shoot a book on a
00:33:31
shelf or something and did that with Shaina in the condo on numerous occasions. >> Is it true that Ryan on at least one
00:33:40
occasion did target practice inside his own condo? We don't know if he did target practice inside his own condo. We
00:33:47
do know that there was a book that had, you know, wood on it and and some holes.
00:33:52
>> Bullet holes. >> Yes. >> He was always very careful in his handling of firearms.
00:33:59
>> Ryan's friend Matt Haron insists he was a responsible gun owner. It was never
00:34:05
something that I worried about. >> But Shaina insists she was worried enough to shoot Ryan in self-defense.
00:34:14
And she thought that when she explained it to police that night, they would release her.
00:34:19
>> I believed in my innocence and I wanted to see my mother and go home. >> Now the witness stand is about to turn
00:34:27
into the hot seat. >> He told you he needed to not be around you. >> Didn't he say that?
00:34:42
Ryan Poston's volatile relationship with Shaina Hubers had become a house of mirrors. Nothing was as it appeared. His
00:34:52
friend Lorie Zimmerman says that while the couple appeared to have reconciled in the weeks before his death, their
00:34:59
romance was rocky. He wasn't happy about dating Shaya Hubers again. From the very start, he
00:35:05
was working to not date Shaina Hubers anymore. >> Ryan's neighbor, Nikki KS, says from
00:35:11
what she witnessed in the months leading up to Ryan's death, the relationship was
00:35:16
toxic. >> I was awoken out of my sleep by some screaming and yelling outside and they
00:35:22
were arguing. This is something that was like happened quite often. >> Was this a nasty argument?
00:35:29
>> Yeah. Everyone has a breaking point. Had Ryan reached his? >> I think Shaina reached hers.
00:35:37
>> Prosecutor Michelle Snodgrass believes rejection and rage sent Shaina over the
00:35:43
edge. Snodgrass confronts her about Ryan's repeated attempts to break up with her.
00:35:50
>> Did he invite you over? >> Which night? >> Well, let's say the night you put six
00:35:55
bullets in him. How about that night? Did he INVITE YOU OVER THAT NIGHT? They'd broken up time and time again and
00:36:02
gotten back together. Why did she get violent this time? >> That's a good question. I think that she
00:36:09
believed it was over for good and she wasn't going to have that. >> The fireworks continue at the bail
00:36:17
hearing over Shaina's different accounts of [music] how Ryan's gun ended up in her hands. You told 911 that you had to
00:36:27
grab the gun out of Mr. Poston's hand. Is that correct? >> I did say that. >> But you told the police something
00:36:38
different, didn't you? >> It was a handgun that I used. The gun was this big. I picked it up off the table.
00:36:50
I did have to release the suit. I did. I remember it now. I can see it in my eyes.
00:36:56
>> This is a Sig Sauer P238 380 caliber semi-automatic handgun. This is the weapon that was used in the shooting of
00:37:04
Ryan Poston. She released the safety, pointed the gun at Ryan Poston, and shot him in the
00:37:12
right side of the head. >> Chief Burkenhower believes Shaina's admission that she released the safety
00:37:19
on the gun is evidence of premeditation. I believe as soon as she released the safety, she made the decision that she
00:37:25
was going to kill him. It is a sign in my opinion that she had time to think about it.
00:37:30
>> Show me how she released the safety. >> The safety, which right there, you you
00:37:34
can't pull [music] the trigger. In order to make this gun operate, you have to release the safety. Now, the gun's ready
00:37:40
to go and then you just pull the trigger. It is an extra step that you have to think about. The gun itself also
00:37:48
contained [music] critical forensic evidence, a trace of Ryan's blood. >> And what did that tell you?
00:37:56
>> One or more of the shots were so close to the body when the trigger was pulled,
00:38:02
the blood came out and it landed on the gun. >> Meaning Chief Burkenhower believes that
00:38:07
Shaina moved closer to Ryan for the final kill shots. There was never a time after the first shot that he was on his
00:38:15
feet. >> But Shaina now insists it was Ryan who was moving towards her. Despite what she
00:38:22
told police after Ryan's death, >> he was still moving. He was still coming toward me.
00:38:28
>> First two shots we thought were firecrackers and then there was four more and then we knew it was gunshots.
00:38:35
Ryan's downstairs neighbors, Vernon and Doris West, heard gunshots that night, but no fight. And what was the sequence
00:38:44
of the shots? >> Bang bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. >> Did either of you hear any arguing in
00:38:51
that condo above you? Did you hear any shouting? >> Never. >> Never. >> Never did. Never did, sir.
00:38:58
>> No. If there had been a fight going on up there, a physical struggle between the two of them, Shaina being thrown
00:39:05
across the floor, would you have heard it? >> Yes, >> I believe I would. >> The prosecutor insists that even if
00:39:13
Shaina initially thought Ryan was a danger to her, she didn't need to keep shooting him.
00:39:19
>> She had the door behind her with no obstructions. Why didn't she just go? The defense maintains that Kucky's
00:39:27
so-called stand your ground law says a person does not have a duty to retreat prior to the use of deadly physical
00:39:35
force. But the prosecutor believes Shaina's decision to keep shooting proves a murderous intent.
00:39:43
>> She knew that Ryan Poston had somewhere else that he had to be and someone else
00:39:48
that he was meeting and she wasn't going to let that happen. In his questioning of Shaina, [music]
00:39:55
defense attorney David Mahia turns the table on the prosecution, driving home Shaina's contention that she had to use
00:40:03
deadly force to save herself. >> Now, what did you believe would happen if he got out after having been shot
00:40:13
twice? >> He would shoot me. He would hurt me. As you well know, Shaina has been portrayed as strangely
00:40:23
obsessive, a liar, a murderer. >> It's been horrible. She grew up in the church. She's not a murderer.
00:40:32
>> The word evil has been used to describe your daughter. >> She's far from evil. Shaina has a heart
00:40:38
of gold. She's like her mommy, a loving spirit. That's what I want the world to know.
00:40:50
>> In the end, Judge Fred Stein sets bail at $1.5 million. Too much for Shaina's
00:40:57
parents to afford. Now, as the case heads to trial, how will the defense team overcome the one
00:41:05
witness who could destroy any claims of self-defense? that witness the twirling, singing,
00:41:13
loquacious Shaina Hubers. >> If you go to jail, are you allowed to keep your phone?
00:41:31
48 hours. Don't miss an episode. >> [music] [music] [music] >> This special two-part [music] edition of
00:42:13
48 Hours continues. [music] The psalmist were affirm that statement Shabbat made be the truth the whole
00:42:29
truth. I don't know why, where in her life something steered her so wrong to make her become so obsessive.
00:42:39
Ryan Poston was trying to end the relationship with Shaina. She was obsessed with him.
00:42:46
>> How did Shaina and Ryan meet? >> They met on Facebook. >> What was the attraction, you think?
00:42:51
>> Well, you've seen pictures of them. They're both beautiful people. And in addition to that, they're both
00:42:59
very intelligent. He was a young lawyer who [music] had a great practice that was starting.
00:43:06
He was kind and he was compassionate. I think she had a goal in the beginning to make him settle down with her. And
00:43:16
when she wasn't becoming [music] successful, that became a problem. >> Ryan was the one that initiated, "I love
00:43:22
you, Shaina." I really thought that he meant it. I I really thought that he did.
00:43:29
>> She wouldn't stop texting him, obsessively texting him, and he would not respond except to say, "If you do
00:43:38
not stop, I'm turning off my phone. And in fact, I'm going to padlock my door." She showed up unannounced all the time.
00:43:46
Ryan said that Shaina was restraining order crazy. Ke County 911. >> Ma'am, I have I I killed my boyfriend in
00:44:01
self-defense. >> Six shots rang out in this condo. Police say it was murder, but Shaina Hubers
00:44:10
claims she defended herself against a man with a violent temper. >> They were right in front of me and he
00:44:17
reached down and grabbed the gun and I grabbed it out of his hand and told the trigger. Ryan didn't beat on me every
00:44:23
day, but he did put hands on me a handful of times. >> She said she gave him the nose job that
00:44:30
he wanted. >> I knew he was going to die or have a completely deformed face. He's very vain
00:44:36
and wants to get a nose job. Just that kind of person. And I shot him right here. I gave him his nose job. He wanted
00:44:46
>> I don't know what more you can say after that. I don't know if anyone will ever want to
00:44:53
marry me if they know that I killed a boyfriend in South [music] [music] >> [music]
00:45:33
[music] >> Okay. What was his name? >> The man that I killed her. Ryan Carter Poston.
00:45:43
>> [music] >> In April 2015, 2 and a half years after Shaina Huber's gunned down, her on-again
00:45:51
off-again boyfriend Ryan [music] Poston, her trial is set to begin. Central to both the prosecution and the
00:46:00
defense will be what Shaina told police. and I just picked up the gun and in the
00:46:07
middle of him doing something with his arm or saying something crazy, shot him. Shaina claims she shot Ryan in
00:46:17
self-defense during a heated confrontation at his condo. Prosecutor Michelle Snodgrass contends
00:46:25
that the only person whose life was in danger on October 12th, 2012 was Ryan Poston.
00:46:33
I think in the midst of that, my love turned to hate. >> My love turned to hate. I think at that
00:46:41
point in time, we knew what Shaina Hubers was thinking. And it certainly wasn't that she needed to act out of
00:46:47
fear. She acted out of hate. >> Prosecutors say trouble had been brewing long before that tragic day. Ryan's
00:46:56
cousin, Cararissa Carile, who was also Shaina's friend, testified about the tumultuous relationship.
00:47:04
>> He said to me, "This is getting to be restraining order level crazy. I'm not kidding. You need to talk to her. She
00:47:10
needs help." And I say that without exaggeration. She just really needs help. >> What did you learn about Shaina's
00:47:15
personality? The word obsessive is is a good word for her. An obsession that police chief Bill Burkenhower says can
00:47:24
be seen in the thousands of text messages Shaina sent Ryan. >> We know from text messages back and
00:47:32
forth that when Ryan would end it sometimes Shaina would just show back up and not leave.
00:47:37
>> Refused to leave. >> Yes. Refused to leave. >> By the fall of 2012, investigators
00:47:44
believe Shaina was nearing a breaking point. 11 days before the shooting, Shaina sent a friend an ominous text.
00:47:54
>> She says when she goes to the shooting range with Ryan tonight, she wants to turn around, shoot, and kill him and
00:47:59
play like it's an accident. >> Shaina [music] texted similar disturbing comments to another friend and sent a
00:48:07
gun toing picture. >> She was already making a plan to make sure Ryan did not leave her.
00:48:14
The state believes Shaina confronted him at his condo because Ryan had told her he didn't want to see her that weekend.
00:48:22
Although investigators don't doubt an argument took place, they saw no evidence of the violent struggle Shaina
00:48:29
had described. >> He was throwing me around the room like picking me up and like had my face and
00:48:38
stuff. Shaina claimed Ryan had also thrown her against this bookshelf. >> As you can see, this bookcase is covered
00:48:47
with items that would have shifted that would have been in a different position.
00:48:52
A number of pipes along that shelf, some bullets on this shelf. And if you look at this photograph that shows a little
00:49:01
bit of a closer angle, none of them are disturbed. But what really made investigators skeptical about Shaina's
00:49:08
story, >> I know what happened, >> right? >> Was her claim that at one point during
00:49:13
their clash, Ryan [music] had locked himself in his bedroom. >> So, what was Miss Huber's Googling how
00:49:20
to do it? >> She first Googled how to unlock a house door with a bobby pin. That was a Google
00:49:26
search. >> She found a way to unlock his bedroom door and get in there. By now, the
00:49:33
argument had moved into the dining room with Ryan on one side of the table and Shaina standing on the other side.
00:49:42
Ryan's loaded handgun was on the table. >> He was screaming at me, telling me I was
00:49:48
Ellie, that he hates me, that he hates my speaking voice. I hate everything about you.
00:49:54
[music] >> The jury would hear Shaina's own account of the shooting. And he was he had it
00:50:01
sitting on the table and he wasn't completely standing up. He was like this. He was like he was sitting he was enough
00:50:09
that when I he was went like this literally that's when I knew he was dead or close to it and twitching.
00:50:17
>> Despite Shaya's description that Ryan was nearly dead after the first shot. She went on to shoot him five more
00:50:24
times. But the defense maintains Ryan was still a threat. He was moving when these shots were fired.
00:50:31
>> The prosecution doesn't buy it, and they say they have the science to prove it.
00:50:37
>> All right, have a seat. >> Forensic expert Howard Ryan testifies that Shaina's first shot was to Ryan
00:50:44
Poston's head. A significant fact because there was no blood on the front of his shirt. If he was in an upright
00:50:52
position, the gravity would have brought it down straight down the shirt and through the pants through the bottom of
00:50:57
the shirt to the pants. >> Using the very bloodstained table taken from Ryan Poston's condo.
00:51:04
>> How do you think this went down? >> Snodgrass demonstrates why investigators are convinced that Ryan was sitting and
00:51:12
never stood up after the first shot. when she shoots him in the right forehead. At that point in time, his
00:51:19
head goes down on the table. As you can see, this exposes the upper portion of his right back,
00:51:28
which we believe was the second shot. At that same time as well, his right arm is
00:51:33
dangling, which again opens up the area where the third shot occurred, which was
00:51:39
under his right arm. >> And where's his body going? And then at that point in time, Ryan starts [snorts]
00:51:44
to fall out of the chair. He ultimately ends up laying on the floor. >> While Ryan was down on the floor,
00:51:51
Snodgrass says Shaina then finished him off. >> He was helpless. That's not self-defense.
00:51:59
>> And raise your right. >> To bolster their case, the prosecution calls three jail house informants who
00:52:07
befriended Shaina behind bars. Are you a convicted felon? >> Yes. >> Yes, I am. >> Yes, I am.
00:52:15
>> The women who have a history of drug abuse and multiple arrests say they came
00:52:20
forward because Shaina had shown no remorse. They deny receiving any special treatment for their testimony.
00:52:29
>> And what did she say had really happened? >> What really happened? That she was the
00:52:34
aggressor in the fight. She said she was going to plead insanity, but then she she said that she
00:52:41
was too smart because she has an IQ of Einstein and so she's going to plead the wife battered syndrome.
00:52:48
>> Okay. >> And say that he beat her. >> I see no remorse. Um she I she played more the victim
00:52:56
role. >> According to this last informant, Shaina knew that Ryan had a date with this
00:53:02
woman. Ohio. >> Former Miss Ohio USA Audrey Bolty. >> We were going to meet at a local bar and
00:53:12
grab a few drinks and play pool and just have a low-key fun time. >> Shaina Huber strongly denies she knew
00:53:20
about the planned date. As the state's case winds down, Ryan's parents tell the jury of their profound
00:53:28
loss. >> Ryan was my world. When people would ask me about my child, I wouldn't say that
00:53:35
he [music] was beautiful even though he was or he was brilliant even though he was. I would say my son has a kind
00:53:40
heart. >> I can tell you one thing. I was the luckiest woman on earth for 30 years.
00:53:48
>> But the defense is about to turn the tables on the prosecution. That child has been a blessing [music]
00:54:09
to me. She's my whole life. My life didn't happen until [music] Shaina was born.
00:54:17
>> Retired school teacher Sharon Hubers can't comprehend how her daughter stands
00:54:23
charged with murder. Now she's poised to stand by her only child as the defense puts on its case.
00:54:32
>> Shaina Hubers has never said anything to anybody in this case other than, "I had
00:54:38
to do it to save my life. I did this in self-defense." Defense attorney David Mahia [music]
00:54:45
doesn't deny that Shaina Hubers shot and killed Ryan Poston. But he must now convince the jury that
00:54:54
Ryan was the aggressor that night. >> Is the defense ready to proceed? >> Defense calls Mr. Sharon Hubers. Sharon
00:55:02
Hubers. >> Sharon is the first to take the stand. >> Be the truth, the whole truth, and
00:55:08
nothing but the truth. >> Yes, sir. She wants everyone to know about her wonderful daughter.
00:55:15
>> She enrolled at Eastern Kentucky University. She decided she wanted to be a school guidance counselor.
00:55:21
>> In every way, she's been brilliant. >> Sharon then testifies about the time leading up to Ryan's death, describing
00:55:30
that frantic call from her daughter shortly after 3:00 a.m., some 18 hours before Ryan was shot.
00:55:39
Shaina was at Ryan's and complained of chest pains. >> She was sick. She was in pain.
00:55:49
There was fear in her voice. >> Later that day, clearly feeling better, Shaina and her mother went shopping. But
00:55:58
much of that time, Shaina was furiously texting Ryan, writing in part, "I'm being placed on medicine that will help
00:56:06
my blood pressure." And later, I am so thankful that my mom came and took me to the doctor.
00:56:13
>> None of it was true. >> None of it was true. >> Why was she saying these things?
00:56:16
>> To get his sympathy. If he felt sorry for her, then maybe she still had a chance. [music]
00:56:24
>> That evening, Sharon left Shaina in front of Ryan's condo complex. Hours later, she receives another
00:56:32
frantic call. Ryan was dead. She reveals to the jury that Shaina called her first before calling 911.
00:56:44
>> She was hysterical, terrified, in shock. >> What were your words to Shaina? >> Shaina, call 911 and tell them where you
00:56:57
are and exactly what happened. Why would Shaina call mom instead of the police after this traumatic experience
00:57:06
and having to shoot her boyfriend? >> I have no idea why she would do that. This is the only thing that I can
00:57:12
surmise from it is that she was trying to come up with her defense. >> She threw me across the room
00:57:19
and and I was very startled. I was laying on the floor. The night of October 12th, 2012, the defense argues
00:57:27
Ryan Poston had reached his boiling point. >> And he's got a lawsuit confronting him
00:57:33
that he can't take. >> He was being sued by his former law partner. They point to Facebook messages
00:57:42
he sent weeks before he died. >> Referring to the man who's suing him, Ryan writes, "I want this piece of S
00:57:50
destroyed. bury him neck deep at low tide, throw darts at his head. That's a threat.
00:57:59
>> I don't know if it's a threat or if it's a comment about his dislike for the individual that he's talking about.
00:58:04
>> The defense maintains these messages show Ryan had a dangerous temper fueled by drugs he was prescribed.
00:58:14
Eight months before his murder, he wrote to a friend, "The stuff they put me on fills me with rage from what I can
00:58:21
tell." >> And he was taking some pretty strong drugs. >> Ryan's friend, Ally Wgner, says Ryan had
00:58:27
turned to the drugs to cope with the stress of the lawsuit. >> He said, "I'm taking Adderall to wake
00:58:33
up, and I'm taking Xanax to go to bed." >> But she insists he was still the same
00:58:37
guy she met 10 years earlier. >> He was still normal. I mean, I saw him the day before he died and he was fine.
00:58:46
>> All right. Would you call your witness, please? >> Dr. Sortani. Say Jordani. >> Now, a toxicologist takes the stand.
00:58:54
>> Sir, if you would have a seat. >> Who says the mixing of those prescription drugs could have
00:59:00
frightening effects. What these drugs do, they basically um cause incidents of behavioral dis control and hostile
00:59:11
outbursts. >> The defense contends Ryan snapped, attacking [music] Shaina. >> And then this look came out of his eyes.
00:59:21
It was like capable of anything. And he takes I think I told you he takes like a
00:59:25
lot of drugs. >> Mahia reminds jurors what he believes happened. that Ryan Poston was standing
00:59:32
and moving when Shaina shot him six times. >> Even Shaina's own words do not support
00:59:43
the theory that was presented in court. She never said that he was standing. >> I walked around the table
00:59:55
and I think that's when I shot him. in the head. I shot him probably six times. Shot him in the head. He fell on
01:00:05
the ground. He was like laying like this. His glasses were still on. He was twitching some more. I shot him a couple
01:00:12
more times just to make sure he was dead. >> Raise your right hand. Do you sound
01:00:16
>> a former medical examiner for the state of Kentucky, Dr. George Nichols, testifies Ryan could still have been a
01:00:24
threat to Shaina even after he was shot. He could move the chest wounds, the front and back wounds, the armpit
01:00:33
wounds, they would not cause him to to lose the ability to walk at least some or move some. Shaina Hubers, the young
01:00:41
woman who couldn't stop talking to police, doesn't [music] take the stand, but her
01:00:47
attorney will demonstrate >> the gun is on the table. >> How he believes the shooting went down.
01:00:54
Her statement was he reached for the gun and I grabbed it. Self-defense. [music]
01:01:14
[music] As closing arguments begin, defense attorney David Mahia mocks the prosecution's claim that Shaina Huber's
01:01:26
obsession led to Ryan's murder. She keeps calling her boyfriend and he can't get rid of her. She's a murderer.
01:01:34
She keeps hounding him and hounding him with texts and emails. And so she's a cold-blooded murder. Are you buying
01:01:41
that? Now, in a case that never lacks drama, >> we're going to take a moment to bring
01:01:48
out the table. >> Mahia reenacts Ryan's shooting with Cole Council Rachel Nent playing the role of
01:01:56
Shaina Hubers. >> Her statement was he reached for the gun and I grabbed it. First shot
01:02:06
to the head as he's reaching down to her as she's below him. remember. >> But in a dueling demonstration,
01:02:15
>> again, the evidence doesn't lie. >> Prosecutor Michelle Snodgrass argues that Mahia's theory is not supported by
01:02:22
the forensic evidence. >> The trajectory was in a downward downward angle. There is no way that
01:02:32
from the ground that that shot occurred. It's just not physically possible. Snodgrass wants jurors to focus on
01:02:41
Shaina's behavior, which she likens to a performance. >> When the cops walk out of the room,
01:02:48
watch what the actress does. >> Do you do you smoke? >> I will. I'll get your cigarette, too.
01:02:58
Just a second. You're fine. >> The minute he walks out of the room, the crying stops. That's the actress. Within
01:03:06
hours of putting six bullets into Ryan Poston and watching him die, she danced and sang.
01:03:15
>> I did. >> Yes, I did. >> She shown us that she's a liar. She shown us that she's a manipulator.
01:03:25
And most importantly, what she showed us on October 12th, 2012 is that she's a murderer.
01:03:33
The case goes to the jury shortly before 6:30 p.m. on April 23rd, [music] 2015. Family and friends anxiously wait as
01:03:45
deliberations go late into the night. Then just before 11:30, a verdict is reached. It is time for Shaina to learn
01:03:56
her fate. We a jury find the defendant Shaina Hubers guilty of murder. >> Guilty. 24year-old Shaina Hubers, once a
01:04:09
promising graduate student, is now a convicted murderer. For Ryan's family, there is enormous
01:04:18
relief that justice has been served. For Shaina's mother, there is shock and disbelief. And what was that moment like
01:04:26
for you when you heard guilty? >> That's difficult to explain, Peter, because it I was terrified and and uh it
01:04:36
was surreal. It I didn't see how on earth that that it could have been that that could have been the outcome.
01:04:46
>> [bell] >> Court reconvenes the next morning as jurors will now hear testimony from both
01:04:52
sides to determine Shaina's sentence. Her lawyers ask the jury for lenience. >> The accomplishments, the good deeds
01:05:02
should not and cannot be ignored. Right. Miss Carter, would you raise your right
01:05:06
hand? >> Katie Carter, one of Ryan's sisters, takes the stand to share her heartache.
01:05:12
He made us complete and without him there is always a chair that's going to be empty.
01:05:21
He will never be able to get married. He'll never be able to have kids. [snorts] He will never be able to have
01:05:30
all the things that he deserved to have in his life. >> It takes the jury only about an hour to
01:05:37
make its recommendation. We the jury fix the defendant Shannon Huber's punishment
01:05:41
for the offense of murder at 40 years confinement in the penitentiary. >> 40 years. The judge will later decide
01:05:51
whether to accept the jury's suggested sentence. For Ryan's parents, it doesn't ease [music] the pain of their loss.
01:05:59
It's >> a shallow victory jury. Our son is dead. I'm so sorry. >> Never for one second did we ever think
01:06:06
that there was any any physical violence from a young man who had a kind and gentle heart.
01:06:13
>> 3 months later, they are back in court for a hearing. >> We are here on a number of issues,
01:06:19
folks. >> The defense wants a shorter sentence for Shaina. So, they're trying to prove that
01:06:25
she was a victim of domestic violence at the hands of Ryan. That would make her eligible for parole after serving eight
01:06:33
years. But first, under Kentucky law, the defense must prove the two live together despite what she told police.
01:06:42
>> I don't live with him. >> Okay. Is that his address? >> That's his >> Okay. What's your address, sweetheart?
01:06:47
>> Shaina had an apartment in Lexington, more than 80 miles away. Now she takes the stand trying to convince the judge
01:06:56
she was Ryan's living girlfriend by reading texts the two sent each other. >> Shaina says I'm going to fry boneless
01:07:05
chicken breast for dinner. Does that sound good? Ryan says that sounds good. >> But the prosecutor confronts Shaina with
01:07:13
evidence that she was also seeing other men. No. Were you with 10 other men during that during this whole time that
01:07:19
we're talking about 2012? 10 different men. H >> how are you saying was I with them? Like
01:07:24
are you saying that I was I friends with them? Did I sleep with them? >> You slept with 10 different men during
01:07:31
2012. >> In answer to your question, sure. I may have slept with 10 guys in 2012, but I
01:07:36
don't see how that's relevant to any of the >> The judge finds that Shaina and Ryan
01:07:42
were not domestic partners. It's now up to the judge to issue his final sentence, and the defense will make one
01:07:50
last desperate call. It has been nearly three years since Shaina Huber shot Ryan Poston,
01:08:10
including a final bullet as he helplessly twitched on the floor. >> All right. How many witnesses do each
01:08:19
side propose for sentencing? >> Now, at her sentencing hearing, her defense team wants to make sure [music]
01:08:26
the judge hears about Ryan's alleged history of aggressive behavior. Raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear
01:08:33
affirm that the statement you're about to make would be the truth or truth? Nothing at
01:08:38
>> Did she ever approach you and discuss with you any acts of violence between her and Ryan?
01:08:43
>> Yes. >> In a story not told at trial. >> They were out there arguing. >> Ryan's neighbor [music] Nikki KS says a
01:08:51
few months before the murder, Shaina came to her in tears. She had came to my door crying and her arm probably from
01:09:00
like here to here. She had a big red mark on her arm. She said that Ryan had slammed her arm in the door and threw
01:09:06
her on the floor in the hallway. >> And when she told you this story, what did you see on her face?
01:09:12
>> She was clearly upset. There were handprints on her arm. >> But Shaina's cellmate, Holly Nons,
01:09:20
testified at trial that Shaina made the whole thing up. And she would purposely like pull her arms up so the neighbors
01:09:27
would see bruises on her arms. >> Did she say how the bruises got there? >> She inflicted them.
01:09:32
>> I'm sorry. >> She inflicted them on herself. >> And sir, I'll remind you you're still on
01:09:38
the roof. All right. >> Defense expert psychologist Ed Connor, who evaluated Shaina, diagnosed her with
01:09:45
narcissism and low self-esteem. I think Shaina was a person who had extreme difficulty with rejection and and
01:09:55
tolerating it. >> Anything else? >> Let's call Shaina Hubers. >> Hubers, come forward, please.
01:10:04
>> Now it's up to Shaina to [music] convince the judge that somehow she deserves sympathy.
01:10:11
>> It's sad when someone pushes you away and pulls you back in and pushes you away and pulls you back in. There were
01:10:17
times when he had my head going 10 different directions to where I didn't even know if that was my boyfriend or
01:10:23
not or what he was to me. >> Shaina seems filled with resentment. >> I feel like I was let on. I feel like I
01:10:30
was manipulated, used, and abused. And no, Ryan didn't beat on me every day. I'm not I'm not going to sit up here and
01:10:38
exaggerate and lie and say that he did, but he did put hands on me a handful of times. And I guess we're just [music]
01:10:44
>> prosecutor Michelle Snodgrass circles back to what she believes is at the heart of this case.
01:10:51
Rejection. >> Isn't it true that you sat here and you heard Dr. Connor say that you do not
01:10:58
take rejection? Well, >> Dr. Connor did say that I were rejected. Whether it had been earlier in the day
01:11:07
when Ryan told you, I don't want to see you. Whether it was the other times where he said, you know, we're done.
01:11:13
This is it. No more. I need space. You were rejected by him. Not just once, but many times.
01:11:20
>> If I killed Ryan over rejection, he would have been dead. >> I ask you what you killed Ryan over. I
01:11:24
asked you if you were rejected by him. >> I've been rejected. I've been rejected.
01:11:30
>> Nothing further, your honor. >> But if that were motive, there'd be a graveyard further, your honor.
01:11:35
>> All right. Did Shaina's plan to persuade the court to be lenient backfire? >> I've never claimed to be perfect.
01:11:44
>> As court reconvenes, she [music] offers an apology for the first time. >> And I'm sorry to my family, and I'm
01:11:52
sorry to my friends for letting them down. I am sorry for the money that my parents have had to spend on attorneys.
01:11:59
But the young woman who is diagnosed a narcissist never apologizes to Ryan's family. [music]
01:12:06
Instead, she talks about herself. >> I I do want to help people. I I do want to be um something better. And I and I
01:12:15
do want to continue to grow and learn. And I just don't think that a 40-year sentence will
01:12:23
help me. I don't think it would benefit me any. I don't think that it would rehabilitate me in.
01:12:31
>> Now it's Judge Fred Stein's [music] turn to speak and he has some choice words for Shaina.
01:12:39
What I think happened in that apartment was little more than coldblooded murder.
01:12:44
It's probably as cold blooded an act as I've been associated with in the criminal justice system in the 30 plus
01:12:53
years I've been in it. He upholds the jury's recommended [music] sentence of 40 years.
01:13:00
And >> that's about all there is to say. >> As Ryan's family leaves the courthouse,
01:13:06
they can barely contain their anger. >> Is there anything you'd want to say to Shaya?
01:13:10
>> Oh god, no. Rotten hell. She is going where she deserves to be. Where she's going, her mommy can't help
01:13:17
her. >> Mommy will always be there. Shaina's mother will never accept that her beloved, brilliant daughter is
01:13:27
anything but a victim who had to defend herself. >> I'll draw my last breath helping that
01:13:34
baby. [gasps] She doesn't deserve this. She's done nothing wrong. >> But this emotional roller coaster is not
01:13:44
over. One year after Shaina's conviction, there is a dramatic development [music]
01:13:50
no one predicted. >> A judge orders a new trial today for Shaina Hubers. >> Today, she learned she will get a new
01:13:56
trial. >> Shaina is granted a new trial after her lawyer discovers a member of the
01:14:04
original jury was a felon. According to Kentucky law, he should have been barred
01:14:10
from serving. We will jump through as many hoops as we have to jump through to get justice for
01:14:16
my son. If we have to do this a 100 times, we'll do it a 100 times. >> Ryan Poston's family is braced to endure
01:14:24
more [music] painful testimony. And Shaina Hubers is about to show just how far she'll go.
01:14:32
>> Would you raise your right hand? You saw >> to win back her freedom. >> He began beating my body with the door
01:14:38
over and over and over. The Campbell County Grand [music] Jury charges that >> Shaina Huber's second trial begins on
01:14:58
August 14th, 2018, almost [music] 6 years after Ryan Poston's death. >> The defendant committed the offense of
01:15:06
murder. A lot has changed. Shaina is now 27 and married. In a brief jailhouse ceremony
01:15:17
in June, Shaina wed a convicted drug trafficker named Richard McB. The two somehow met at the Campbell County Jail
01:15:26
where they were both locked up. In yet another twist, McB sometimes identifies as a transgender woman named Unique
01:15:35
Taylor. You may recall after killing Ryan, Shaina worried about finding love. >> I don't know if anyone will ever want to
01:15:46
marry me if they know that I killed a boyfriend and felt >> now. Newly wed Shaina is back in [music]
01:15:54
court >> and that same disturbing interview with police remains the strongest evidence
01:16:00
against her. >> He's very vain and wants to get a nose job. just that kind of person. And I
01:16:06
shot him right here. I gave him his nose job. He wanted >> Ryan was very aggressive with her. The
01:16:15
defense, led this time by attorney David Eldridge, is again claiming Ryan was abusive.
01:16:21
>> What started out that evening as a normal evening, ended that night with Mr. Poston being both sexually and
01:16:29
physically violent. Eldridge takes the jury on an X-rated journey to prove his case.
01:16:37
>> She could not reach orgasm when they had sex. It is a constant criticism. Mr. Post.
01:16:46
>> Okay. Your next witness. >> Call Shaina. >> It's a risky move. >> Ma'am, would you raise your right hand?
01:16:53
You saw me swear. >> But Shaina takes the stand, telling [music] graphic tales of rough sex. And
01:17:00
I started to bleed and it it was painful. >> That sometimes turned kinky against her
01:17:09
will. >> Ryan did something I didn't want him to do. >> How did that experience make you feel?
01:17:18
>> It felt degrading. >> She claims Ryan often humiliated her. and he told me that it was unattractive
01:17:26
that I couldn't orgasm. >> Despite the passage of time, Shaina easily recalls specific dates.
01:17:34
>> It was May of 2011, maybe November the 12th, January of 2012 >> and details of alleged unprovoked abuse
01:17:43
by Ryan. >> I was woken up to him just pushing me out of the bed and he just started
01:17:50
screaming at me. Why would Shaina stay with Ryan? >> Borderline personality disorder is a
01:17:57
chronic long-term condition. >> Defense psychologist Thomas [music] Shocked says she has a personality
01:18:04
disorder and PTSD from childhood sexual abuse, but there are no police reports to support Shaina's claims.
01:18:13
>> Miss Huber's psychological condition was seriously abnormal. Shaina admits she did not handle their
01:18:21
breakups well. >> I would often send him countless text messages. >> Did you ever show up at his condominium
01:18:29
uninvited? >> Yes. >> When she showed up at his condo the night of October 12th, 2012. Shaina
01:18:35
[music] claims Ryan exploded in anger and attacked her. >> He picked me up and threw me from the
01:18:42
doorway of his bedroom into the other room. He screamed at me, "You're a person and you're a person
01:18:54
because you're you were touched when you were a little girl." >> After the fight had moved into the
01:19:00
dining area, Shaina says she was left crying on the floor >> and he was reaching across the table and
01:19:09
I don't know if he was reaching for the gun or reaching for me, but I was still sitting on the floor at this point in
01:19:15
time. and I got up off the floor and I grabbed the gun and I shot him. >> It's not the same story Shaya [music]
01:19:26
told when she called 911 >> and he reached down and grabbed the gun and I grabbed it out of his hand and
01:19:32
pulled the pulled the trigger. >> Prosecutor Michelle Snodgrass pounces. >> We need to make sure we get this right.
01:19:41
Your story was different. After all these years, I really don't remember the 911 call.
01:19:46
>> But you remember every other detail, every other detail of relationship that started in 2011.
01:19:53
>> Snodgrass confronts Shaina with other inconsistencies. >> And in fact, you often times described
01:20:01
Ryan to your friends as being calm, didn't you? >> Ryan could be calm at times. >> You told him he was patient and kind.
01:20:12
Ryan was sometimes patient, kind, and nice. Yes. Sometimes he wasn't. >> You want to tell the jury what you told
01:20:18
your friend you about? >> She points out Shaina was a willing participant in the kinky sex.
01:20:24
>> Isn't it true that you told multiple friends how it was the best sex of your life?
01:20:32
>> I'm sure I said that. >> The way he looked at you was unreal. You said that. >> I'll take your word for it. don't
01:20:40
remember it, but guess >> I shot him probably six times. >> And Snodgrass reminds Shaina of what she
01:20:46
told police after pumping six bullets into Ryan. >> He was twitching some more. I shot him a
01:20:52
couple more times just to make sure he was dead cuz I didn't want to watch him die.
01:20:59
>> And you told officers that it was too painful for you. >> I said that to sit and watch him twitch.
01:21:09
Now, six years later, that story has changed as well. >> I also, when I first shot him, wasn't
01:21:16
sure where the shots had entered or if I had just made him more angry. >> Ladies and gentlemen, the respective
01:21:26
parties have rested their cases. The jury deliberates for nearly five hours and then
01:21:37
>> we the jury find the defendant Shaina Hubers guilty of murder. >> Shaina Hubers is guilty of the murder of
01:21:52
Ryan Poston for a second time. The jury reconvenes the next day to decide on a sentence.
01:22:02
>> Ryan had a heart of cold. He never ever left me without kissing me on the cheek
01:22:09
and telling me he loved me. >> Once again, Ryan's father and sister have to find the words to describe their
01:22:17
loss. >> This is Ryan's shirt. I'm sorry. un available right now. If you can leave a message, I will call YOU
01:22:27
BACK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THANK YOU. >> That's it. That's all we have a voicemail.
01:22:37
[snorts] >> Shaina's devastated mother hopes [music] the jury will show mercy. My child's
01:22:48
life has also been taken. Her family also grieves. I'm not lessening or taken away from or trying to say that
01:23:06
I don't understand the grief of this family because I do. >> But the defense's bid for leniency
01:23:14
fails. We the jury fix the defendant Shauna Huber's punishment for the offense of
01:23:21
murder at life imprisonment. >> A life sentence more than the 40-year sentence Shaina received at her first
01:23:31
trial. >> Ryan's family is relieved. >> This is justice. >> This is justice from the system. There
01:23:39
is never closure. >> There will never be closure. He'll never walk through that door again. No.
01:23:45
>> And they will always wonder about what might have been. >> I will forever miss the possibilities.
01:23:52
We will never know. The incredible possibilities that Ryan Poston would have given to this earth. He was an
01:23:59
tremendously gifted young man. [music] >> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music]