Murder of Ryan Poston

Ryan Carter Poston was born December 30, 1982, in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, and raised there, attending schools in the Philippines and Switzerland before graduating from Indiana University and later earning a law degree from Northern Kentucky University. He worked as an attorney in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2011, at age 28, Poston met 20-year-old Shayna Hubers on Facebook through a mutual friend, and the two began a relationship described as volatile, with several breakups over roughly 18 months.

On October 12, 2012, Hubers called 9-1-1 to report that she had killed Poston in his Highland Heights condominium, shooting him six times. She maintained during police interrogation that the shooting was in self-defense and alleged the relationship had been abusive. During questioning, she made statements including that shooting Poston in the face "gave him the nose job he always wanted" and later, left alone in the interrogation room, was recorded saying "I did it. Yes, I did it. I can't believe I did that" and "I'm so good at acting." She was arrested and held on a $3,000,000 bond. On the night of the killing, Poston had been scheduled to go on a date with Audrey Bolte, Miss Ohio USA 2012, who testified he never arrived.

Hubers was indicted for murder on December 20, 2012, and pleaded not guilty on January 16, 2013. Her first trial began April 13, 2015, in Campbell County circuit court. Prosecutors, led by Michelle Snodgrass, presented text-message evidence and testimony from Poston's family, Bolte, and Hubers' former cellmate Cecily Miller, who testified Hubers had bragged about the killing and discussed pursuing a battered-wife-syndrome defense. Hubers did not testify but relied on her recorded police interrogation. On April 23, 2015, a jury convicted her of murder after five hours of deliberation, recommending a 40-year sentence. On August 14, 2015, the judge sentenced her to 40 years with parole eligibility after 20 years, stating he did not believe she was a victim of domestic violence.

Hubers' attorneys moved for a new trial, which was granted on August 25/27, 2016, after it emerged that a juror had concealed a felony conviction, which under Kentucky law disqualified him from serving. Her second trial, delayed several times, began on August 8, 2018. In this trial, Hubers testified in her own defense, describing details of her relationship with Poston and asserting he had been abusive. After five hours of deliberation, the jury again convicted her of murder on August 28, 2018. On October 18, 2018, she was sentenced to life imprisonment with parole eligibility after 17 years, with potential parole consideration in 2032. She is incarcerated at the Kentucky Correctional Institute for Women in Pewee Valley, Kentucky. While incarcerated, Hubers married a fellow inmate in June 2018; the marriage was reportedly dissolved by divorce in March 2019.

The case received extensive media coverage, including features on ABC's 20/20, CBS's 48 Hours, and other true-crime programs and podcasts.