It was on October 12, 2012, when Ryan Carter Poston was found dead inside his condominium in Highland Heights, Kentucky, leaving the entire state baffled to the very core. The 29-year-old native had been brutally killed, but no one could have ever imagined anyone wanting to harm him in such a way, owing to the fact that he was a pillar of society in more ways than one. Lifetime’s ‘Sleeping With a Killer: Ryan Poston’ delves into the same before chronicling the significant efforts of law enforcement officials over six years to bring his assailant to justice.
Ryan Poston Was Shot to Death Inside His Own Home
Born on December 30, 1982, in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, to Lisa Carter and Jay Poston, Ryan Poston was the eldest of four children with three younger sisters: Alison, Katherine, and Elizabeth. He reportedly grew up in a caring, loving, supportive household, but what really shaped him was his global experiences from an early age and during his high school years. After all, he attended Blessed Sacrament School in his hometown and the International School Manila in the Philippines before graduating from the International School of Geneva in Switzerland.
Ryan subsequently enrolled at Indiana University to triple major in Geography, History, and Political Science, which led him to realize that his real calling was actually in the world of law. Therefore, he later went on to earn his Juris Doctorate from Salmon P. Chase College of Law – Northern Kentucky University, following which he kick-started his career as a full-fledged attorney. He was actively practicing in Cincinnati, Ohio, by the time 2012 rolled around, all the while also maintaining his personal relationships as an affectionate grandson, kind son, and protective older brother.
Ryan was even dating, and had gone on a date with Miss Ohio USA 2012 Audrey Bolte on the night of October 12, unaware that everything would be snatched away from him mere hours later. It was his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Shayna Michelle Hubers, who had dialed 911 on the fateful night to report that the attorney had been killed inside his Highland Heights condominium. When officials arrived at the scene, they discovered his remains slumped on the floor between a table and a radiator, as well as his blood covering the living room wall and pooling on the floor. The young attorney’s autopsy confirmed he had been shot six times, with one of the bullets having been fired right at his head.
Ryan Poston’s Assailant Was Arrested Within Hours
By the time local authorities had arrived at the scene upon receiving the 911 call, they knew two things for certain: Ryan Poston had been murdered, and the 911 call was the triggerwoman. After all, Shayna Hubers had made it clear from the get-go that she had shot her on-again, off-again boyfriend six times but claimed she did so in self-defense owing to his alleged abusive behavior. According to records, she maintained this narrative while questioned at the scene and during her interrogation that night, having agreed to talk voluntarily without an attorney present.
It turns out that Ryan and Shayna had first come across one another on Facebook back in 2011 and connected on a personal level despite their 8-year age gap. They began dating shortly after, but shared a volatile relationship over the ensuing 18 months owing to their distance and trust issues, which resulted in numerous break-ups and patch-ups. While he was based in Highland Heights, she was a psychology student around 80 miles away at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, from where she graduated in 2012 before deciding to pursue a Master’s degree in School Counseling.
According to Shayna’s accounts to the police, she and Ryan had planned to meet at his condo on the fateful evening, but their conversation soon turned into an argument. She alleged that he ended up throwing her around, which is when she grabbed the .380 pistol and opened fire on him, still maintaining that she had killed in self-defense because he was allegedly abusive. During her interrogation, though, she made statements that indicated she was well aware of where she was firing, and officials also noted that she did not have any defensive wounds or major bruises on her body.
Following Two Trials, Shayna Hubers is Currently Serving Time in Prison
There was a mountain of evidence against Shayna Hubers, but the most incriminating was her own statements to the police and her behavior in the aftermath of the shooting. “I knew he was gonna die or have a completely deformed face,” she had said in the interrogation room, as seen on video in court. “He’s very vain… and wants to get a nose job. Just that kinda person, and I shot him right here. I gave him his nose job he wanted.” Moreover, she later made the comment, “I don’t know if anyone will ever want to marry me if they know that I killed a boyfriend in self-defense.”
According to the police video, when Shayna was left alone in the interrogation room, she also said aloud, “I did it. Yes, I did it. I can’t believe I did that,” as well as “I’m so good at acting.” Then, she got up, began dancing around the room, stood near the wall, and sang “Amazing Grace.” As a result of all this, she was formally arrested on the charge of murder, booked into the county jail, and later arraigned with the order of being held on a $3 million bond. She pleaded not guilty to the charge against her on January 16, 2013. It was 2½ years later that her trial commenced, by which point she had remained detained at the Campbell County jail, unable to meet her $3 million bail.
Shayna did not take the stand in her own defense, but her team relied on the self-defense argument, which she had iterated several times during her interrogation. In the end, on April 23, 2015, a jury found her guilty after five hours of deliberation, for which she was later sentenced to 40 years in prison with parole eligibility after 20 years. This verdict was overthrown on appeal in 2016 as it had come to light that one of the jurors in her trial was a convicted felon. Her second trial commenced on August 8, 2018, and after 20 days of testimonies, including her own, and 5 hours of deliberations, she was once again found guilty of murder. As a result, she was later sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility after 20 years. Thus, today, at age 34, she remains incarcerated at the Kentucky Correctional Institute for Women in Pewee Valley, where she is expected to remain until at least she becomes eligible for parole in 2032.
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