KY man whose defense was sexual abuse pleads guilty to killing father, uncle
A Lincoln County man says 15 years ago, when he was a pre-teen, his father and uncle sexually abused him after they got him drunk on moonshine during a fishing trip.
It was one of many times the man, Brandon Mullins, says he was abused by the pair.
Then, in May 2024, Mullins entered a trailer in northern Pulaski County and used a .45 pistol to shoot both men — Dennis “Ed” Mullins, 57, and Anthony Mullins, 55 — in the head before fleeing.
Brandon Mullins’ lawyers had planned to argue at trial this summer that the earlier abuse caused their client to be in a state of emotional disturbance the day he killed his father and uncle — an argument they hoped would reduce his chances of facing the death penalty.
But on Wednesday, he instead accepted a plea deal to serve 40 years in prison.
Mullins, 27, was charged with two counts of murder and tampering with physical evidence his father and uncle’s bodies were found inside a trailer on Sandidge Spur Road in Eubank. He pleaded guilty to the two murder charges.
Mullins’ lawyers, Emily Croucher and Bonnie Potter, previously said the years of abuse Mullins endured were crucial to understanding his mental state on the day he killed the two men.
That included sexual, verbal, mental and physical abuse, according to recent pre-trial testimony, and several members of Mullins’ family were victims, too.
Prosecutors countered that the abuse claims were attempts to smear the victims.
Testimony of abuse
At a February 2025 bond hearing for Mullins, several people testified about alleged abuse by Ed and Anthony Mullins.
One woman said she was assaulted for years by Ed Mullins. He gave her drugs without her knowledge, including once inside a sausage, egg and cheese sandwich.
She also testified that the two men had raped Brandon Mullins on a fishing trip when he was a boy.
“(Brandon) called us that day, that evening, and was begging me and my mom to come pick him up,” she testified. “He reeked of alcohol, and he couldn’t keep his head up. He was very, very drunk, and he was crying.”
Several motions were scheduled to try to exclude evidence and testimony of alleged abuse at Mullins’ trial in June. However, now that Mullins’ pleaded guilty, he will be sentenced in April.
“Brandon and his defense team are happy that he received the minimum sentences for two counts of intentional murder and that he will not spend the rest of his life in prison or on death row,” Croucher said in an emailed statement to the Herald-Leader.
This story was originally published March 19, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
