November 16, 2024 • 23 mins
In October 2012, Shayna Michelle Hubers shot her attorney boyfriend, Ryan Carter Poston, to death. Hubers says she shot Poston in self-defense, but the jury found her guilty twice after her initial murder conviction was appealed.
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(00:00):
Today we are going to be talking about the murder of Ryan Poston, a lawyer in Kentucky,
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was murdered by his girlfriend, Shana Hubbers. On October 12th, 2012, Ryan was supposed to meet a
beauty pageant champion for drinks and to play pool, but this did not set well with Shana.
She had different plans. Let's dive into this case.
LESLIE KENDRICK Welcome back for another deep dive with us. This one,
this is a case that's been requested a lot, the murder of Ryan Poston by Shana Hubbers.
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And you sent me a ton of stuff on this, articles and court documents and,
wow, even some psychological analyses. It's a lot.
SHANE Yeah, it's a fascinating case for sure. Lots of layers to one pack.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah, it seems like, from what I've read so far, that Shana was kind of painted
as like the classic obsessive girlfriend. But it's never that simple, is it?
SHANE Never. Especially with a case like this, there are so many factors at play,
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we need to look at both sides of the story. LESLIE KENDRICK Exactly. So yeah, we'll definitely
dive into that whole obsessive girlfriend angle. But we're also going to look at Ryan, you know,
what was he like? What was the relationship really like? And of course, the legal battles.
Because this one went through a lot of twists and turns.
SHANE It did.
LESLIE KENDRICK It reminds me a little of the Jodi Arias case, you know, that kind of
unsettling mix of charm and, well, just unsettling behavior.
(01:14):
SHANE Right. Those cases where it's hard to pin down exactly what motivated the killer,
what their state of mind was at the time.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah, for sure. But let's not get too ahead of ourselves.
Let's start at the beginning, right? Tell me about Ryan Poston. What kind of guy was he?
SHANE From everything I've read, he seemed to have it all going for him. Ambitious, kind,
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well-liked. His family seemed really close.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yes. He definitely seemed to be a rising star. You know, went to good schools,
traveled internationally, was already building a successful career before even starting law school.
SHANE Wow. It sounds like he had such a bright future ahead of him.
LESLIE KENDRICK Uh-huh.
SHANE Okay. And then Shana enters the picture. She was how old when they met?
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LESLIE KENDRICK 19. She was 19, and Ryan was 28.
SHANE Okay. So there's a significant age gap there. Now, obviously, a legal and consensual
relationship. But, I mean, that age difference does make you wonder about the power dynamic.
LESLIE KENDRICK It does. It's something to keep in mind as we go through the story.
SHANE Okay. So, Shana at 19. What do we know about her at that point?
LESLIE KENDRICK Well, she definitely came across as charming. She had a lot of friends.
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But even going back to her high school years, there are some hints of, I don't know,
maybe possessive tendencies, a need for control.
SHANE Oh, interesting. So maybe some early signs there. Yeah. And sometimes those early
patterns can be really telling. Maybe not at the time, but when you look back, it's like, oh, wow.
LESLIE KENDRICK It's like foreshadowing almost. Okay. So their relationship, what was that like?
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I know it was on again, off again for quite a while.
SHANE Very tumultuous. Lots of breakups and make-ups.
LESLIE KENDRICK And it seems like Shana had a really hard time letting go.
SHANE Yes. Absolutely.
LESLIE KENDRICK And showing up at his place unannounced.
SHANE Doing his chores.
LESLIE KENDRICK Doing his chores.
SHANE Yeah. You know, trying to be the good girlfriend.
LESLIE KENDRICK But maybe it was more than that.
SHANE I think it's fair to say it went beyond just being helpful. I think it was a way for her to
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try to control the situation. Maybe even manipulate him.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah, that makes sense. And Ryan was actually confiding in his friends and family
about this, right?
SHANE He was. He was telling people that he was worried about her behavior.
LESLIE KENDRICK He even tried to get her out of his condo.
SHANE Yes. He actually sought legal help with that.
LESLIE KENDRICK And that's where the restraining order issue comes in, right?
SHANE Exactly. In Kentucky, the law requires that couples live together for a restraining order to
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be granted.
LESLIE KENDRICK So he couldn't get one because they weren't living together.
SHANE That's right.
LESLIE KENDRICK That must have been so frustrating for him.
SHANE I can imagine. Especially given that he was studying to be a lawyer. He knew the law.
LESLIE KENDRICK But couldn't use it to protect himself in this situation.
SHANE It's a real catch-22.
LESLIE KENDRICK Okay. So let's fast forward a bit. To the night of the murder, October 12,
2012, Ryan had spent the evening with his family watching a political debate.
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SHANE Right. A nice family evening.
LESLIE KENDRICK And then later that night, he breaks up with Shana again.
SHANE And her reaction is intense.
LESLIE KENDRICK Very intense. She calls her mother at like three in the morning,
practically hyperventilating.
SHANE Her mom actually thought she was having a heart attack.
Drove two and a half hours to be with her.
LESLIE KENDRICK Wow. So she was really distraught. Now here's a crucial detail. Ryan had a date
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planned that very night with Audrey Bolt, eh?
SHANE Audrey Bolt?
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah. Former Miss Ohio, Miss America runner-up.
SHANE Wow. He was moving on.
LESLIE KENDRICK It seems like it. Obviously, that date never happened.
Audrey was left wondering why he didn't show up, completely unaware of the tragedy that was
unfolding.
SHANE It's heartbreaking.
LESLIE KENDRICK So now we get to the 911 call.
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SHANE This is where things get really intense.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah. Brace yourself, because it's a tough one.
LESLIE KENDRICK Kimmel County 911.
SHANE I have a... I killed my boyfriend in self-defense.
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LESLIE KENDRICK Okay.
LESLIE KENDRICK I'm sorry. What is it again? Tell me...
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SHANE I'm not a murderer. I just killed my boyfriend.
LESLIE KENDRICK What happened exactly? What happened?
SHANE He beat me and tried to carry me out of the house. He beat me and tried to carry
me out of the house, and I came back in to get my things, and he was right in front of
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me, and he raced down and grabbed a gun, and I grabbed it out of his hand and pulled the
trigger.
LESLIE KENDRICK Okay. All right. Do you need an ambulance?
SHANE Have you been injured?
LESLIE KENDRICK I'm not injured, ma'am. I was thrown into
the side of the couch.
LESLIE KENDRICK Okay. And how old is he?
LESLIE KENDRICK He's 29. He'll be 30. He would have been 30
on December the 30th.
LESLIE KENDRICK All right. What's his name?
(06:22):
LESLIE KENDRICK Ryan Carter Postons. He's an attorney in
Cincinnati.
LESLIE KENDRICK Okay. And then you had a history of domestic
violence with him?
LESLIE KENDRICK Yes.
LESLIE KENDRICK Okay. And is this your gun?
LESLIE KENDRICK No. This is his gun. He keeps loaded guns
in the house. So he slammed you into the couch, but you don't have any injuries?
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LESLIE KENDRICK I don't have any injuries. I was just very
frightened. He's a lot bigger than me. He's 6'3", 200 pounds. I'm 5'8", 120. And he picked
me up and was tearing me out of the house. And I said, let me get my things at least
if we're going to break up. And he wouldn't let me get my things. And when I reached around
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to try to get my things, he... I can hear myself actually in the background, ma'am.
LESLIE KENDRICK It's just the phone system. The phone
system has got a delay.
LESLIE KENDRICK And he pushed me down from the door all
the way to the couch. And when they come here, they'll see how far that is. He threw me across
the room. And I was very startled. I was lying on the floor.
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LESLIE KENDRICK Okay. All right.
LESLIE KENDRICK And I killed him.
LESLIE KENDRICK Okay.
LESLIE KENDRICK And then ran. And then because he was
twisting, and I knew he was going to die anyway, and he was making funny noises, I saw him a
couple more times just to kill him because I knew he would have been...
LESLIE KENDRICK I'm sorry. You said you shot him a couple
more times after that?
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah.
LESLIE KENDRICK How many times did you shoot him total?
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LESLIE KENDRICK I don't know.
LESLIE KENDRICK Okay. Because he was
twitching and you knew he was going to die, so you shot him again?
LESLIE KENDRICK And not to make sure he was dead because
he was twitching so bad, I called 111 to lay there and twist.
LESLIE KENDRICK So you shot him instead of calling 911?
LESLIE KENDRICK Do what?
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah, I did kill him. I clearly
didn't mean to die anyway. He was pretty bad. And then he was like, he just looked twitching
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and he was pretty much dead, and I shot him just so he stopped twitching.
LESLIE KENDRICK Shaina's demeanor throughout the call is,
well, it's not what you'd expect at all.
LESLIE KENDRICK It's chilling, to say the least. It's one
of those things where, you know, it's not just a call for help. It's evidence.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah.
LESLIE KENDRICK You can hear her state of mind in her voice.
LESLIE KENDRICK Right. And thankfully, the source material
you sent me actually includes excerpts from the call so we can actually hear her voice
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as she's describing what happened. And it's really chilling.
LESLIE KENDRICK I bet.
LESLIE KENDRICK I mean, she admits to killing him,
but it's in this almost casual way, like she's ordering a pizza or something.
JAY That's so disturbing.
LESLIE KENDRICK It really is. There's this one part that
really stuck with me. She tells the dispatcher she continued shooting Ryan because he was twitching.
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JAY Yeah.
LESLIE KENDRICK And she wanted to put him out of his misery.
SHANI I couldn't stand to watch him twitch.
I knew he was going to die or have a completely different face. He's very vain and wants to get
a nose job. And I saw him right here. I gave him his nose job.
JAY Oh, wow.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah.
JAY So she's claiming she was being merciful.
LESLIE KENDRICK Right.
JAY But that doesn't really line up with the forensic evidence.
(09:26):
LESLIE KENDRICK Oh.
JAY Because the evidence suggests that Ryan was alive until the very last shot.
LESLIE KENDRICK Oh, wow. So her claim of mercy…
JAY Doesn't hold up.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah. It feels very disingenuous.
JAY It's a strange juxtaposition, isn't it?
LESLIE KENDRICK Okay.
JAY The cold-blooded act of shooting someone multiple times.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah.
JAY And then this supposed act of compassion.
LESLIE KENDRICK Right. Like trying to make it seem like she was doing him a favor.
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JAY Exactly.
LESLIE KENDRICK And as if the 911 call wasn't unsettling enough, her behavior during the
interrogation is even more bizarre.
JAY Oh, really?
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah. She's like singing, dancing, making jokes. It's almost like she's
completely detached from reality.
JAY Thank you.
LESLIE KENDRICK It's giving very much Jodi Arias vibes.
(10:12):
LESLIE KENDRICK Yay.
JAY That same kind of performing for the camera.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah.
JAY Maybe a way to control the narrative. Deflect from any real remorse.
LESLIE KENDRICK I think you're right. It's like a manipulation tactic. You see it sometimes in
these kinds of cases.
JAY Absolutely.
LESLIE KENDRICK There's a quote from the interrogation that I found really disturbing. She says,
I'm worried no one will want to marry me now.
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JAY Wow.
LESLIE KENDRICK Like that's her biggest concern.
JAY It's just wild.
LESLIE KENDRICK It is. Totally lacking in any kind of empathy or remorse.
JAY Yeah. It's all about her. How the situation affects her.
LESLIE KENDRICK It's all about Shana. And then on top of all that, her story keeps changing.
JAY Oh, how so?
LESLIE KENDRICK Well, in the 911 call she says Ryan grabbed the gun first,
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but then later she says she took it from the table.
JAY So which is it?
LESLIE KENDRICK Exactly.
JAY It makes you question her credibility.
LESLIE KENDRICK Good time.
JAY And does the crime scene back up her claims of a struggle?
LESLIE KENDRICK Not at all. No signs of a fight. Furniture's all undisturbed.
JAY So that contradicts the self-defense story.
LESLIE KENDRICK Completely.
JAY It just doesn't add up.
LESLIE KENDRICK Okay, so then we get to the first trial in 2015. The prosecution presents
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a pretty straightforward case.
JAY Expert testimony witness, a forensic expert from New Jersey was called,
spent a long time going through all the evidence. And when he was called to the stand, although he
didn't use this word, he basically said that she, Shana Hubers, was the aggressor.
LESLIE KENDRICK We have a shot to the head, which is administered to the head and is incapacitating
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with no stippling at a distance, which puts the victim down on his face on the table. At that
point, the suspect moves forward. The victim was alive for all of the shots. So I believe the first
three shots in themselves were very damaging, but he remained alive until the last shot was given.
LESLIE KENDRICK Shana as the obsessive girlfriend, driven to murder by jealousy and possessiveness.
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JAY Makes sense.
LESLIE KENDRICK And they have some pretty damning evidence, like text messages where she tells a
friend she wants to kill Ryan.
JAY Oh wow.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah, those were sent just days before the murder. It's hard to argue with that
kind of evidence.
JAY Yeah, that's pretty incriminating.
LESLIE KENDRICK And then there's the testimony from her cellmate.
Cicely Miller was in the Campbell County jail with Hubers. She says she came forward with what
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Hubers told her because she felt sorry for Poston's family.
LESLIE KENDRICK Did she ever at times laugh about certain parts of the incident that happened on
October 12th of 2012? Which parts did she laugh about?
JAY The thing about shooting in the face and getting the nose job, you always want to.
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LESLIE KENDRICK Miller says it bothered her that Hubers laughed, in her words, cackled about it.
JAY She says she's going to plead insanity, but then she said that she was too smart because she
has an IQ of Einstein up to the IQ of Einstein, and so she's going to plead the wife battered
syndrome.
JAY What did the cellmate say?
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LESLIE KENDRICK The cellmate claims that Shana actually bragged about the murder.
JAY No.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah, and that she was planning to use the battered wife defense.
JAY That's a huge bombshell.
LESLIE KENDRICK It is, right.
JAY If she was genuinely afraid for her life, why would she be bragging about it?
LESLIE KENDRICK That's the question, isn't it?
And then, to top it all off, Ryan's downstairs neighbors testified that they didn't hear any
signs of a struggle.
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JAY Just the gunshots.
LESLIE KENDRICK Just the gunshots.
JAY Again, contradicting her story.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah. So, with all that evidence, the jury finds her guilty of murder
and sentences her to 40 years.
JAY With that, Judge Fred Stein agrees with the jury. Shana Hubers goes to prison. She'll
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be there up to 40 years until she's in her 60s.
LESLIE KENDRICK It was a moment of relief for Ryan's family.
But, obviously nothing can bring him back.
JAY No, of course not.
LESLIE KENDRICK But at least there was some sense of justice.
JAY Right. So it seems pretty open and shut at this point.
LESLIE KENDRICK You would think, right? But this is the Shana Hubers case. Things are never
that simple.
JAY Oh boy, what happened?
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LESLIE KENDRICK The conviction gets overturned.
JAY What? Why?
LESLIE KENDRICK It turns out one of the jurors was a convicted felon.
JAY Oh wow.
LESLIE KENDRICK Which means they were ineligible to serve on the jury.
JAY So a technicality.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah, a legal technicality. Throws the whole case into chaos.
JAY I'm guessing this led to a retrial.
LESLIE KENDRICK You guessed it.
JAY Oh.
LESLIE KENDRICK So Shana gets another chance.
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JAY Unbelievable.
LESLIE KENDRICK And the twists and turns don't stop there. Before the retrial even begins,
Shana tries to get the venue changed.
JAY Going back, because we did talk about whether or not you could have a fair trial,
your attorney actually said the news coverage had painted a negative image of you and had
destroyed the presumption of innocence.
SHANA I do believe that. And I do believe that there's been incredibly negative media
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coverage about me in Cincinnati and in the United States and internationally. But…
JAY I mean, the media coverage is tied to what was set in court and the evidence presented on both sides.
SHANA Correct. Correct. But I still feel like the media coverage has been biased against me.
And I feel like it's going to be very hard for me to receive a fair trial in this area.
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JAY Why? She claims that all the negative media coverage has biased the potential jury pool.
JAY That's a common tactic.
SHANA It is.
JAY But did it work?
SHANA No. And it didn't help that her defense team got caught up in a notary forgery scandal.
JAY A notary forgery scandal?
SHANA Yeah. The notary who was supposed to be getting signatures for the change of venue petition
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was forging them?
JAY Oh wow.
SHANA Yeah. So that didn't exactly boost their credibility.
JAY Definitely not.
SHANA And then amidst all this legal drama, Shana gets married…
JAY She got married.
SHANA …to another inmate.
JAY Well, she got married while in prison?
SHANA Yep.
JAY It appears that you've fallen in love.
SHANA Yes.
JAY How did that happen?
SHANA I can only describe it as like a spiritual encounter that I had with another person that I
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met here a couple years ago that I grew to know over the years. And we just got really close and
you know, we're both forced into a similar situation. And
Unique and I have a lot in common and we just grew very close over the years.
JAY This case just gets wilder and wilder.
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SHANA Right.
JAY Who did she marry?
SHANA Her new spouse is a transgender woman named Unique Taylor.
Shana even gave an interview where she claimed they were being discriminated against.
SHANA I left Campbell County Jail and was transferred south of here in January of 2016
right after he arrived, so I didn't meet him until… I didn't meet Unique, he, she, until that summer.
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JAY Have you heard back from anyone yet?
SHANA We have not. And we've both had people calling the Campbell County Clerk's Office.
And in my opinion, I feel like we're being spun already. And I feel as if I've already been retaliated against.
JAY Even if it's only been seven days?
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SHANA Yes.
JAY I mean, do you have confirmation they received your request?
SHANA No, I do not. I feel as if I've been retaliated against at the actual institution at the jail because the jailer was contacted by Richard McBee, Unique Taylor, about our marriage.
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And within hours of his request to the jailer, letting the jailer know what was going on and that he didn't want any type of retaliation,
I was moved to a different cell, and all of my legal documents for my court case were taken from me. And they were taken to the administration office on the other side of the jail.
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SHANA Because their marriage license was taking so long to process, they ditched the self-defense claims completely.
(18:38):
JAY Wow. What are they going with instead?
SHANA This time it's extreme emotional disturbance and PTSD.
JAY PTSD. Interesting. So they're basically saying she wasn't in control of her actions.
SHANA Exactly. They argue that all this past trauma, specifically alleged sexual abuse from her high school years, you know, it kind of led to this violent outburst.
(19:00):
JAY But how do they connect that to the murder all these years later?
SHANA Well, they try to paint Ryan as this controlling and abusive boyfriend.
JAY So they're shifting the blame.
SHANA In a way, yeah. They say he was constantly criticizing her, belittling her, putting her down.
JAY Trying to make her seem like the victim.
SHANA Right. Like she was pushed to a breaking point. Remember, this was back in 2012, 2013.
JAY Right.
SHANA Awareness of things like emotional abuse, psychological manipulation. It wasn't as widespread as it is now.
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JAY So they're trying to use that to their advantage.
SHANA Exactly. And this time, Shana actually takes to stand herself.
JAY Oh, wow.
SHANA Yeah. She describes months of alleged abuse, says Ryan had all these rules for her, how to dress, how to act, even how to communicate with them.
JAY But is there any evidence to support these claims?
SHANA That's the thing. There's no physical evidence, no witnesses to corroborate her story.
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JAY So it becomes a he said, she said situation.
SHANA Basically. The jury has to decide who they believe.
JAY And what about the prosecution? Do they buy it?
SHANA Not for a second. They stick to their original argument, Shana as the obsessive girlfriend who couldn't let go. They keep hammering on those incriminating text messages.
JAY Right. The ones where she talked about killing Ryan.
SHANA Yep. And they bring in witnesses who contradict Shana's claims, paint her as the aggressor, not the victim.
(20:17):
JAY Any key witnesses stand out?
SHANA Well, they had three of Shana's former cellmates testify.
JAY Cellmates?
SHANA Yeah. And each one of them basically said Shana bragged about the murder. Some even said she laughed about it.
And one cellmate even claims Shana admitted to faking injuries to make Ryan look abusive.
SHANA One of the things that we talked about is with Ms. Hubers in her statement saying, I'll use her words, thrown around the room like a rag doll, thrown into the bookcase. What was one of your concerns as an investigator when you see this scene?
(20:52):
JAY That there was nothing knocked down on the shelf.
SHANA Nothing knocked down on the shelf when you first came in?
JAY Correct. There was dust. If you look up on top, there's a card. There's items that could have been knocked over.
SHANA There's like a birthday card or?
JAY Yeah, some type of card. Yes, ma'am.
SHANA Okay. And nothing at that point in time was out of place?
JAY No, ma'am.
JAY That's pretty damning.
(21:12):
SHANA Definitely doesn't help her case. So after 16 days of testimony, all this back and forth, the jury comes back with a verdict. Guilty of murder.
JAY Judge Daniel Zalla just a few seconds ago sentenced Shana Hubers to life in prison following the jury's recommendations. The defense, well, the defense had asked for 20 years saying Hubers could be rehabbed and become a productive member of society. But the prosecution said that's not what they want. They wanted the life in prison. They said shooting Ryan Poston was an execution on Shana's part.
(21:42):
JAY Wow.
SHANA This time, she's sentenced to life in prison.
JAY It's a much harsher sentence this time around. Seems like the extreme emotional disturbance defense didn't really fly.
SHANA Nope. It seems they saw her actions as deliberate and premeditated, and for Ryan's family, it's a bittersweet victory.
SHANA She's shown us that she's a manipulator. She's shown us that she will say anything she can to get what she wants and most importantly, what she showed us on October 12, 2012, said she's a murderer.
(22:16):
SHANA Yeah.
JAY Well, that's our deep dive into the Ryan Poston and Shana Hubers case.
(22:58):
JAY The real roller coaster.
JAY Thanks for watching.
Today we are going to be talking about the murder of Ryan Poston, a lawyer in Kentucky,
(00:04):
was murdered by his girlfriend, Shana Hubbers. On October 12th, 2012, Ryan was supposed to meet a
beauty pageant champion for drinks and to play pool, but this did not set well with Shana.
She had different plans. Let's dive into this case.
LESLIE KENDRICK Welcome back for another deep dive with us. This one,
this is a case that's been requested a lot, the murder of Ryan Poston by Shana Hubbers.
(00:28):
And you sent me a ton of stuff on this, articles and court documents and,
wow, even some psychological analyses. It's a lot.
SHANE Yeah, it's a fascinating case for sure. Lots of layers to one pack.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah, it seems like, from what I've read so far, that Shana was kind of painted
as like the classic obsessive girlfriend. But it's never that simple, is it?
SHANE Never. Especially with a case like this, there are so many factors at play,
(00:51):
we need to look at both sides of the story. LESLIE KENDRICK Exactly. So yeah, we'll definitely
dive into that whole obsessive girlfriend angle. But we're also going to look at Ryan, you know,
what was he like? What was the relationship really like? And of course, the legal battles.
Because this one went through a lot of twists and turns.
SHANE It did.
LESLIE KENDRICK It reminds me a little of the Jodi Arias case, you know, that kind of
unsettling mix of charm and, well, just unsettling behavior.
(01:14):
SHANE Right. Those cases where it's hard to pin down exactly what motivated the killer,
what their state of mind was at the time.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah, for sure. But let's not get too ahead of ourselves.
Let's start at the beginning, right? Tell me about Ryan Poston. What kind of guy was he?
SHANE From everything I've read, he seemed to have it all going for him. Ambitious, kind,
(01:34):
well-liked. His family seemed really close.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yes. He definitely seemed to be a rising star. You know, went to good schools,
traveled internationally, was already building a successful career before even starting law school.
SHANE Wow. It sounds like he had such a bright future ahead of him.
LESLIE KENDRICK Uh-huh.
SHANE Okay. And then Shana enters the picture. She was how old when they met?
(01:55):
LESLIE KENDRICK 19. She was 19, and Ryan was 28.
SHANE Okay. So there's a significant age gap there. Now, obviously, a legal and consensual
relationship. But, I mean, that age difference does make you wonder about the power dynamic.
LESLIE KENDRICK It does. It's something to keep in mind as we go through the story.
SHANE Okay. So, Shana at 19. What do we know about her at that point?
LESLIE KENDRICK Well, she definitely came across as charming. She had a lot of friends.
(02:15):
But even going back to her high school years, there are some hints of, I don't know,
maybe possessive tendencies, a need for control.
SHANE Oh, interesting. So maybe some early signs there. Yeah. And sometimes those early
patterns can be really telling. Maybe not at the time, but when you look back, it's like, oh, wow.
LESLIE KENDRICK It's like foreshadowing almost. Okay. So their relationship, what was that like?
(02:36):
I know it was on again, off again for quite a while.
SHANE Very tumultuous. Lots of breakups and make-ups.
LESLIE KENDRICK And it seems like Shana had a really hard time letting go.
SHANE Yes. Absolutely.
LESLIE KENDRICK And showing up at his place unannounced.
SHANE Doing his chores.
LESLIE KENDRICK Doing his chores.
SHANE Yeah. You know, trying to be the good girlfriend.
LESLIE KENDRICK But maybe it was more than that.
SHANE I think it's fair to say it went beyond just being helpful. I think it was a way for her to
(03:02):
try to control the situation. Maybe even manipulate him.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah, that makes sense. And Ryan was actually confiding in his friends and family
about this, right?
SHANE He was. He was telling people that he was worried about her behavior.
LESLIE KENDRICK He even tried to get her out of his condo.
SHANE Yes. He actually sought legal help with that.
LESLIE KENDRICK And that's where the restraining order issue comes in, right?
SHANE Exactly. In Kentucky, the law requires that couples live together for a restraining order to
(03:25):
be granted.
LESLIE KENDRICK So he couldn't get one because they weren't living together.
SHANE That's right.
LESLIE KENDRICK That must have been so frustrating for him.
SHANE I can imagine. Especially given that he was studying to be a lawyer. He knew the law.
LESLIE KENDRICK But couldn't use it to protect himself in this situation.
SHANE It's a real catch-22.
LESLIE KENDRICK Okay. So let's fast forward a bit. To the night of the murder, October 12,
2012, Ryan had spent the evening with his family watching a political debate.
(03:48):
SHANE Right. A nice family evening.
LESLIE KENDRICK And then later that night, he breaks up with Shana again.
SHANE And her reaction is intense.
LESLIE KENDRICK Very intense. She calls her mother at like three in the morning,
practically hyperventilating.
SHANE Her mom actually thought she was having a heart attack.
Drove two and a half hours to be with her.
LESLIE KENDRICK Wow. So she was really distraught. Now here's a crucial detail. Ryan had a date
(04:10):
planned that very night with Audrey Bolt, eh?
SHANE Audrey Bolt?
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah. Former Miss Ohio, Miss America runner-up.
SHANE Wow. He was moving on.
LESLIE KENDRICK It seems like it. Obviously, that date never happened.
Audrey was left wondering why he didn't show up, completely unaware of the tragedy that was
unfolding.
SHANE It's heartbreaking.
LESLIE KENDRICK So now we get to the 911 call.
(04:31):
SHANE This is where things get really intense.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah. Brace yourself, because it's a tough one.
LESLIE KENDRICK Kimmel County 911.
SHANE I have a... I killed my boyfriend in self-defense.
(05:08):
LESLIE KENDRICK Okay.
LESLIE KENDRICK I'm sorry. What is it again? Tell me...
(05:41):
SHANE I'm not a murderer. I just killed my boyfriend.
LESLIE KENDRICK What happened exactly? What happened?
SHANE He beat me and tried to carry me out of the house. He beat me and tried to carry
me out of the house, and I came back in to get my things, and he was right in front of
(06:01):
me, and he raced down and grabbed a gun, and I grabbed it out of his hand and pulled the
trigger.
LESLIE KENDRICK Okay. All right. Do you need an ambulance?
SHANE Have you been injured?
LESLIE KENDRICK I'm not injured, ma'am. I was thrown into
the side of the couch.
LESLIE KENDRICK Okay. And how old is he?
LESLIE KENDRICK He's 29. He'll be 30. He would have been 30
on December the 30th.
LESLIE KENDRICK All right. What's his name?
(06:22):
LESLIE KENDRICK Ryan Carter Postons. He's an attorney in
Cincinnati.
LESLIE KENDRICK Okay. And then you had a history of domestic
violence with him?
LESLIE KENDRICK Yes.
LESLIE KENDRICK Okay. And is this your gun?
LESLIE KENDRICK No. This is his gun. He keeps loaded guns
in the house. So he slammed you into the couch, but you don't have any injuries?
(06:43):
LESLIE KENDRICK I don't have any injuries. I was just very
frightened. He's a lot bigger than me. He's 6'3", 200 pounds. I'm 5'8", 120. And he picked
me up and was tearing me out of the house. And I said, let me get my things at least
if we're going to break up. And he wouldn't let me get my things. And when I reached around
(07:08):
to try to get my things, he... I can hear myself actually in the background, ma'am.
LESLIE KENDRICK It's just the phone system. The phone
system has got a delay.
LESLIE KENDRICK And he pushed me down from the door all
the way to the couch. And when they come here, they'll see how far that is. He threw me across
the room. And I was very startled. I was lying on the floor.
(07:33):
LESLIE KENDRICK Okay. All right.
LESLIE KENDRICK And I killed him.
LESLIE KENDRICK Okay.
LESLIE KENDRICK And then ran. And then because he was
twisting, and I knew he was going to die anyway, and he was making funny noises, I saw him a
couple more times just to kill him because I knew he would have been...
LESLIE KENDRICK I'm sorry. You said you shot him a couple
more times after that?
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah.
LESLIE KENDRICK How many times did you shoot him total?
(07:54):
LESLIE KENDRICK I don't know.
LESLIE KENDRICK Okay. Because he was
twitching and you knew he was going to die, so you shot him again?
LESLIE KENDRICK And not to make sure he was dead because
he was twitching so bad, I called 111 to lay there and twist.
LESLIE KENDRICK So you shot him instead of calling 911?
LESLIE KENDRICK Do what?
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah, I did kill him. I clearly
didn't mean to die anyway. He was pretty bad. And then he was like, he just looked twitching
(08:20):
and he was pretty much dead, and I shot him just so he stopped twitching.
LESLIE KENDRICK Shaina's demeanor throughout the call is,
well, it's not what you'd expect at all.
LESLIE KENDRICK It's chilling, to say the least. It's one
of those things where, you know, it's not just a call for help. It's evidence.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah.
LESLIE KENDRICK You can hear her state of mind in her voice.
LESLIE KENDRICK Right. And thankfully, the source material
you sent me actually includes excerpts from the call so we can actually hear her voice
(08:45):
as she's describing what happened. And it's really chilling.
LESLIE KENDRICK I bet.
LESLIE KENDRICK I mean, she admits to killing him,
but it's in this almost casual way, like she's ordering a pizza or something.
JAY That's so disturbing.
LESLIE KENDRICK It really is. There's this one part that
really stuck with me. She tells the dispatcher she continued shooting Ryan because he was twitching.
(09:05):
JAY Yeah.
LESLIE KENDRICK And she wanted to put him out of his misery.
SHANI I couldn't stand to watch him twitch.
I knew he was going to die or have a completely different face. He's very vain and wants to get
a nose job. And I saw him right here. I gave him his nose job.
JAY Oh, wow.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah.
JAY So she's claiming she was being merciful.
LESLIE KENDRICK Right.
JAY But that doesn't really line up with the forensic evidence.
(09:26):
LESLIE KENDRICK Oh.
JAY Because the evidence suggests that Ryan was alive until the very last shot.
LESLIE KENDRICK Oh, wow. So her claim of mercy…
JAY Doesn't hold up.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah. It feels very disingenuous.
JAY It's a strange juxtaposition, isn't it?
LESLIE KENDRICK Okay.
JAY The cold-blooded act of shooting someone multiple times.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah.
JAY And then this supposed act of compassion.
LESLIE KENDRICK Right. Like trying to make it seem like she was doing him a favor.
(09:46):
JAY Exactly.
LESLIE KENDRICK And as if the 911 call wasn't unsettling enough, her behavior during the
interrogation is even more bizarre.
JAY Oh, really?
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah. She's like singing, dancing, making jokes. It's almost like she's
completely detached from reality.
JAY Thank you.
LESLIE KENDRICK It's giving very much Jodi Arias vibes.
(10:12):
LESLIE KENDRICK Yay.
JAY That same kind of performing for the camera.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah.
JAY Maybe a way to control the narrative. Deflect from any real remorse.
LESLIE KENDRICK I think you're right. It's like a manipulation tactic. You see it sometimes in
these kinds of cases.
JAY Absolutely.
LESLIE KENDRICK There's a quote from the interrogation that I found really disturbing. She says,
I'm worried no one will want to marry me now.
(10:32):
JAY Wow.
LESLIE KENDRICK Like that's her biggest concern.
JAY It's just wild.
LESLIE KENDRICK It is. Totally lacking in any kind of empathy or remorse.
JAY Yeah. It's all about her. How the situation affects her.
LESLIE KENDRICK It's all about Shana. And then on top of all that, her story keeps changing.
JAY Oh, how so?
LESLIE KENDRICK Well, in the 911 call she says Ryan grabbed the gun first,
(10:53):
but then later she says she took it from the table.
JAY So which is it?
LESLIE KENDRICK Exactly.
JAY It makes you question her credibility.
LESLIE KENDRICK Good time.
JAY And does the crime scene back up her claims of a struggle?
LESLIE KENDRICK Not at all. No signs of a fight. Furniture's all undisturbed.
JAY So that contradicts the self-defense story.
LESLIE KENDRICK Completely.
JAY It just doesn't add up.
LESLIE KENDRICK Okay, so then we get to the first trial in 2015. The prosecution presents
(11:14):
a pretty straightforward case.
JAY Expert testimony witness, a forensic expert from New Jersey was called,
spent a long time going through all the evidence. And when he was called to the stand, although he
didn't use this word, he basically said that she, Shana Hubers, was the aggressor.
LESLIE KENDRICK We have a shot to the head, which is administered to the head and is incapacitating
(11:41):
with no stippling at a distance, which puts the victim down on his face on the table. At that
point, the suspect moves forward. The victim was alive for all of the shots. So I believe the first
three shots in themselves were very damaging, but he remained alive until the last shot was given.
LESLIE KENDRICK Shana as the obsessive girlfriend, driven to murder by jealousy and possessiveness.
(12:06):
JAY Makes sense.
LESLIE KENDRICK And they have some pretty damning evidence, like text messages where she tells a
friend she wants to kill Ryan.
JAY Oh wow.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah, those were sent just days before the murder. It's hard to argue with that
kind of evidence.
JAY Yeah, that's pretty incriminating.
LESLIE KENDRICK And then there's the testimony from her cellmate.
Cicely Miller was in the Campbell County jail with Hubers. She says she came forward with what
(12:28):
Hubers told her because she felt sorry for Poston's family.
LESLIE KENDRICK Did she ever at times laugh about certain parts of the incident that happened on
October 12th of 2012? Which parts did she laugh about?
JAY The thing about shooting in the face and getting the nose job, you always want to.
(12:49):
LESLIE KENDRICK Miller says it bothered her that Hubers laughed, in her words, cackled about it.
JAY She says she's going to plead insanity, but then she said that she was too smart because she
has an IQ of Einstein up to the IQ of Einstein, and so she's going to plead the wife battered
syndrome.
JAY What did the cellmate say?
(13:11):
LESLIE KENDRICK The cellmate claims that Shana actually bragged about the murder.
JAY No.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah, and that she was planning to use the battered wife defense.
JAY That's a huge bombshell.
LESLIE KENDRICK It is, right.
JAY If she was genuinely afraid for her life, why would she be bragging about it?
LESLIE KENDRICK That's the question, isn't it?
And then, to top it all off, Ryan's downstairs neighbors testified that they didn't hear any
signs of a struggle.
(13:31):
JAY Just the gunshots.
LESLIE KENDRICK Just the gunshots.
JAY Again, contradicting her story.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah. So, with all that evidence, the jury finds her guilty of murder
and sentences her to 40 years.
JAY With that, Judge Fred Stein agrees with the jury. Shana Hubers goes to prison. She'll
(14:03):
be there up to 40 years until she's in her 60s.
LESLIE KENDRICK It was a moment of relief for Ryan's family.
But, obviously nothing can bring him back.
JAY No, of course not.
LESLIE KENDRICK But at least there was some sense of justice.
JAY Right. So it seems pretty open and shut at this point.
LESLIE KENDRICK You would think, right? But this is the Shana Hubers case. Things are never
that simple.
JAY Oh boy, what happened?
(14:24):
LESLIE KENDRICK The conviction gets overturned.
JAY What? Why?
LESLIE KENDRICK It turns out one of the jurors was a convicted felon.
JAY Oh wow.
LESLIE KENDRICK Which means they were ineligible to serve on the jury.
JAY So a technicality.
LESLIE KENDRICK Yeah, a legal technicality. Throws the whole case into chaos.
JAY I'm guessing this led to a retrial.
LESLIE KENDRICK You guessed it.
JAY Oh.
LESLIE KENDRICK So Shana gets another chance.
(14:44):
JAY Unbelievable.
LESLIE KENDRICK And the twists and turns don't stop there. Before the retrial even begins,
Shana tries to get the venue changed.
JAY Going back, because we did talk about whether or not you could have a fair trial,
your attorney actually said the news coverage had painted a negative image of you and had
destroyed the presumption of innocence.
SHANA I do believe that. And I do believe that there's been incredibly negative media
(15:06):
coverage about me in Cincinnati and in the United States and internationally. But…
JAY I mean, the media coverage is tied to what was set in court and the evidence presented on both sides.
SHANA Correct. Correct. But I still feel like the media coverage has been biased against me.
And I feel like it's going to be very hard for me to receive a fair trial in this area.
(15:31):
JAY Why? She claims that all the negative media coverage has biased the potential jury pool.
JAY That's a common tactic.
SHANA It is.
JAY But did it work?
SHANA No. And it didn't help that her defense team got caught up in a notary forgery scandal.
JAY A notary forgery scandal?
SHANA Yeah. The notary who was supposed to be getting signatures for the change of venue petition
(15:53):
was forging them?
JAY Oh wow.
SHANA Yeah. So that didn't exactly boost their credibility.
JAY Definitely not.
SHANA And then amidst all this legal drama, Shana gets married…
JAY She got married.
SHANA …to another inmate.
JAY Well, she got married while in prison?
SHANA Yep.
JAY It appears that you've fallen in love.
SHANA Yes.
JAY How did that happen?
SHANA I can only describe it as like a spiritual encounter that I had with another person that I
(16:20):
met here a couple years ago that I grew to know over the years. And we just got really close and
you know, we're both forced into a similar situation. And
Unique and I have a lot in common and we just grew very close over the years.
JAY This case just gets wilder and wilder.
(16:40):
SHANA Right.
JAY Who did she marry?
SHANA Her new spouse is a transgender woman named Unique Taylor.
Shana even gave an interview where she claimed they were being discriminated against.
SHANA I left Campbell County Jail and was transferred south of here in January of 2016
right after he arrived, so I didn't meet him until… I didn't meet Unique, he, she, until that summer.
(17:03):
JAY Have you heard back from anyone yet?
SHANA We have not. And we've both had people calling the Campbell County Clerk's Office.
And in my opinion, I feel like we're being spun already. And I feel as if I've already been retaliated against.
JAY Even if it's only been seven days?
(17:26):
SHANA Yes.
JAY I mean, do you have confirmation they received your request?
SHANA No, I do not. I feel as if I've been retaliated against at the actual institution at the jail because the jailer was contacted by Richard McBee, Unique Taylor, about our marriage.
(17:50):
And within hours of his request to the jailer, letting the jailer know what was going on and that he didn't want any type of retaliation,
I was moved to a different cell, and all of my legal documents for my court case were taken from me. And they were taken to the administration office on the other side of the jail.
(18:13):
SHANA Because their marriage license was taking so long to process, they ditched the self-defense claims completely.
(18:38):
JAY Wow. What are they going with instead?
SHANA This time it's extreme emotional disturbance and PTSD.
JAY PTSD. Interesting. So they're basically saying she wasn't in control of her actions.
SHANA Exactly. They argue that all this past trauma, specifically alleged sexual abuse from her high school years, you know, it kind of led to this violent outburst.
(19:00):
JAY But how do they connect that to the murder all these years later?
SHANA Well, they try to paint Ryan as this controlling and abusive boyfriend.
JAY So they're shifting the blame.
SHANA In a way, yeah. They say he was constantly criticizing her, belittling her, putting her down.
JAY Trying to make her seem like the victim.
SHANA Right. Like she was pushed to a breaking point. Remember, this was back in 2012, 2013.
JAY Right.
SHANA Awareness of things like emotional abuse, psychological manipulation. It wasn't as widespread as it is now.
(19:26):
JAY So they're trying to use that to their advantage.
SHANA Exactly. And this time, Shana actually takes to stand herself.
JAY Oh, wow.
SHANA Yeah. She describes months of alleged abuse, says Ryan had all these rules for her, how to dress, how to act, even how to communicate with them.
JAY But is there any evidence to support these claims?
SHANA That's the thing. There's no physical evidence, no witnesses to corroborate her story.
(19:50):
JAY So it becomes a he said, she said situation.
SHANA Basically. The jury has to decide who they believe.
JAY And what about the prosecution? Do they buy it?
SHANA Not for a second. They stick to their original argument, Shana as the obsessive girlfriend who couldn't let go. They keep hammering on those incriminating text messages.
JAY Right. The ones where she talked about killing Ryan.
SHANA Yep. And they bring in witnesses who contradict Shana's claims, paint her as the aggressor, not the victim.
(20:17):
JAY Any key witnesses stand out?
SHANA Well, they had three of Shana's former cellmates testify.
JAY Cellmates?
SHANA Yeah. And each one of them basically said Shana bragged about the murder. Some even said she laughed about it.
And one cellmate even claims Shana admitted to faking injuries to make Ryan look abusive.
SHANA One of the things that we talked about is with Ms. Hubers in her statement saying, I'll use her words, thrown around the room like a rag doll, thrown into the bookcase. What was one of your concerns as an investigator when you see this scene?
(20:52):
JAY That there was nothing knocked down on the shelf.
SHANA Nothing knocked down on the shelf when you first came in?
JAY Correct. There was dust. If you look up on top, there's a card. There's items that could have been knocked over.
SHANA There's like a birthday card or?
JAY Yeah, some type of card. Yes, ma'am.
SHANA Okay. And nothing at that point in time was out of place?
JAY No, ma'am.
JAY That's pretty damning.
(21:12):
SHANA Definitely doesn't help her case. So after 16 days of testimony, all this back and forth, the jury comes back with a verdict. Guilty of murder.
JAY Judge Daniel Zalla just a few seconds ago sentenced Shana Hubers to life in prison following the jury's recommendations. The defense, well, the defense had asked for 20 years saying Hubers could be rehabbed and become a productive member of society. But the prosecution said that's not what they want. They wanted the life in prison. They said shooting Ryan Poston was an execution on Shana's part.
(21:42):
JAY Wow.
SHANA This time, she's sentenced to life in prison.
JAY It's a much harsher sentence this time around. Seems like the extreme emotional disturbance defense didn't really fly.
SHANA Nope. It seems they saw her actions as deliberate and premeditated, and for Ryan's family, it's a bittersweet victory.
SHANA She's shown us that she's a manipulator. She's shown us that she will say anything she can to get what she wants and most importantly, what she showed us on October 12, 2012, said she's a murderer.
(22:16):
SHANA Yeah.
JAY Well, that's our deep dive into the Ryan Poston and Shana Hubers case.
(22:58):
JAY The real roller coaster.
JAY Thanks for watching.
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