48 Hours - Ryan Poston Murder Part 2: Obsessed

Episode Date: April 24, 2016

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Real people. Real crimes. Real life drama. The psalmist were affirmed that statement she about to make. Be the truth, the whole truth. I don't know why, where in her life, something steered her so wrong to make her become so obsessive. Ryan Poston was trying to end the relationship with Shana. She was obsessed with him. How did Shana and Ryan meet? They met on Facebook. What was the attraction, you think? Well, you've seen pictures of them.

They're both beautiful people. And in addition to that, they're both very intelligent. He was a young lawyer who had a great practice that was starting. He was kind, and he was compassionate. Charming, super sweet, big teddy bear, always gave you a hug when he saw you. I think she had a goal in the beginning to make him settle down with her, and when she wasn't becoming successful, that became a problem. Ryan was the one that initiated, I love you, Shana.

I really thought that he meant it. I really thought that he did. She wouldn't stop texting him. Obsessively texting him. And he would not respond. Except to say, if you do 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.

He could not escape her. Ryan said that Shana was restraining order crazy. Chapel County 911. Ma'am, I have a call. 6 shots rang out in this condo. Police say it was murder. But Shana Huber's claims she defended herself against a man with a violent temper. He was right in front of me, and he raced down and grabbed the gun, and I grabbed it out of his hand and pulled the trigger. I'm 5'8". Ryan was 6'3 1⁄2", 180 to 230 pounds. There was no contest for him.

Ryan didn't beat on me every day, but he did put hands on me a handful of times. What do you think happened the night he died? I think that she went over there, tried to talk him out of breaking up with her. I think he just said, no, like this isn't working. I think she picked up the gun and shot him. She said she gave him the nose job that he wanted.

I knew he was going to die or have a completely deformed face. He's very vain 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. I don't know what more you can say after that. I don't know if anyone will ever want to marry me if they know that I killed a boyfriend and helped him.

I'm Peter Van Sant. Tonight on 48 Hours... Obsessed. Or why nearly every house in America has at least one game of Monopoly. Introducing The Best Idea Yet, a brand new podcast from Wondery and T-Boy about the surprising origin stories of the products you're obsessed with and the bold risk-takers who brought them to life. Like, did you know that Super Mario, the best-selling video game character of all time, only exists because Nintendo couldn't get the rights to Popeye? Or Jack, that the idea

for the McDonald's Happy Meal first came from a mom in Guatemala from Pez dispensers to Levi's 501s to Air Jordans. Discover the surprising stories of the most viral products. Plus, we guarantee that after listening, you're going to dominate your next dinner party. So follow the best idea yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery+. It's just The Best Idea Yet. In the Pacific Ocean,

halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn, and it harboured a deep, dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reach the age of 10 that would still have urged it. It just happens to all of us. I'm journalist Luke Jones, and for almost two two years I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with. In the

Pitcairn trials I'll be uncovering a story of abuse and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Okay, what was his name? The man that I killed? Ryan Carter Poston. In April 2015, two and a half years after Shana Huber's gunned down her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Ryan Poston,

her trial is set to begin. Central to both the prosecution and the defense will be what Shana told police. And I just picked up the gun. And in the middle of him doing something with his arm or saying something crazy, he shot him. Shana claims she shot Ryan in self-defense during a heated confrontation at his condo. Shana says this is a case of self-defense. What do you say? It's a case of murder. Plain and simple. Sometimes it can be that simple. Prosecutor Michelle Snodgrass contends that the only person whose life was in danger on October 12, 2012, was Ryan Poston.

I think in the midst of that, my love turned to hate. My love turned to hate. I think at that point in time, we knew what Shana Hubers was thinking. And it certainly wasn't that she needed to act out of fear. She acted out of hate. Prosecutors say trouble had been brewing long before that tragic day. Ryan's cousin, Carissa Carlisle, who was also Shana's friend, testified about the tumultuous relationship. I believe that Shana wanted more from the relationship than he wanted or was willing to give. But Carissa says Shana would not get the message. He said to me, this is getting to be restraining order level crazy.

I'm not kidding. You need to talk to her. She needs help, and I say that without exaggeration. She just really needs help. What did you learn about Shana's personality? The word obsessive is a good word for her. An obsession that police chief Bill Birkenhauer says can be seen in the thousands of text messages Shana sent Ryan. We know from text messages back and forth that when Ryan would end it, sometimes Shana

would just show back up and not leave. Refuse to leave? Yes, refuse to leave. By the fall of 2012, investigators believe Shana was nearing a breaking point. Eleven days before the shooting, Shana sent a friend an ominous text. Ryan doesn't love or care. He's an evil person.

And what does she say to her friend right after she calls Ryan Poston an evil person? She says when she goes to the shooting range with Ryan tonight, she wants to turn around, shoot and kill him, and play like it's an accident. Shana texted similar disturbing comments to another friend and sent a gun-toting picture. I think that her obsession with Ryan

absolutely took a turn around this time. She was already making a plan to make sure Ryan did not leave her. On October 12, 2012, Ryan left work and headed home. The state believed Shana confronted him at his condo because Ryan had told her he didn't want to see her that weekend. Although investigators don't doubt an argument took place, they saw no evidence of the violent struggle Shana had described.

He was throwing me around the room, like picking me up and like had my face in stuff. Shana claimed Ryan had also thrown her against this bookshelf. As you can see, this bookcase is covered with items that would have shifted, that would have been in a different position. A number of pipes along that shelf, some bullets on this shelf. And if you look at this photograph

that shows a little bit of a closer angle, none of them are disturbed. But what really made investigators skeptical about Shana's story was her claim that at one point during their clash, Ryan had locked himself in his bedroom. If someone is assaulting you, why are they the one to escape? So what was Ms. Huber's Googling how to do? She first Googled how to unlock a house

door with a bobby pin. That was a Google search. She found a way to unlock his bedroom door and get in there. By now, the argument had moved into the dining room with Ryan on one side of the table and Shana standing on the other side. Ryan's loaded handgun was on the table. He was screaming at me, telling me I was f***ing held up, that he f***ing hates me, that he hates my speaking voice, I hate everything about you. The jury would hear Shana's own account of the shooting. And he had his hand on the table table and he wasn't completely standing up.

He was like this. He was sitting, he was enough that when I shot him, he was like this. Literally. That's when I knew he was dead. Or close to it and twitching. Despite Shana's description that Ryan was nearly dead after the first shot, she went on to shoot him five more times.

But the defense maintains Ryan was still a threat. He was moving when these shots were fired. The prosecution doesn't buy it, and they say they have the science to prove it. Alright, have a seat. Forensic expert Howard Ryan testifies that shana's first shot was to ryan poston's head a significant fact because there was no blood on the front of his shirt if he was in an upright position the gravity would have brought it down straight down the shirt and through the pants from the bottom of the shirt to the pants using Using the very bloodstained table taken from Ryan Poston's condo...

How do you think this went down? ...Snaugrass demonstrates why investigators are convinced that Ryan was sitting and never stood up after the first shot. When she shoots him in the right forehead, at that point in time, his head goes down on the table. As you can see, this exposes the upper portion of his right back, which we believe was the second shot. At that same time as well, his right arm is dangling, which again opens up the area where the third shot occurred, which was under his right arm.

And where's his body going? And at that point in time ryan starts to fall out of the chair he ultimately ends up laying on the floor while ryan was down on the floor snodgrass says shayna then finished him off he was helpless that's not self-defense That's not self-defense. You can raise your right. To bolster their case, the prosecution calls three jailhouse informants who befriended Shana behind bars. Are you a convicted felon?

Yes. Yes, I am. Yes, I am. The women, who have a history of drug abuse and multiple arrests, say they came forward because Shana had shown no remorse. They deny receiving any special treatment for their testimony. And what did she say had really happened? What really happened? That she was the aggressor in the fight.

Did she talk to you at all about what she thought was going to happen when she came to court? what she thought was going to happen when she came to court. She said she was going to plead insanity, but then she said that she was too smart because she has an IQ of Einstein, and so she's going to plead the wife batter syndrome. Okay. And say that he beat her. Did she express any emotion when she would talk about this? I see no remorse. She played more the victim role. According to this last informant, Shana knew that Ryan had a date with this woman.

Ohio! Former Miss Ohio USA, Audrey Bolte. We were going to meet at a local bar and grab a few drinks and play pool and just have a low-key fun time. And how did Shana react to that news that he was about to go out with a beauty queen? That was her breaking point. She picked up a gun and stopped him. Shana Huber strongly denies she knew about the planned date. Shana Huber strongly denies she knew about the planned date. As the state's case winds down, Ryan's parents tell the jury of their profound loss. Ryan was my world.

When people would ask me about my child, I wouldn't say that he was beautiful, even though he was, or he was brilliant, even though he was. I would say my son has a kind heart. I can tell you one thing. I was the luckiest woman on earth for 30 years. Tell me about the last time you saw not only her but your son. It was the night before she murdered him. She came to my home and ate at my table. I think that Shana Hubers is a personality unlike any that I've seen in all the years that I've been prosecuting.

It's not a pretty picture. But the defense is about to turn the tables on the prosecution, claiming that Shana was forced to take Ryan's life to save hers. Hot shot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty, her specialty representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld,

and she's informing on them all. I'm Marsha Clark, host of the new podcast, Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense attorney, I've seen some crazy cases, and this one belongs right at the top of the list. She was addicted to the game she had created. She just didn't know how to stop. Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informant's Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows

early and ad-free right now. As a kid growing up in Chicago, there was one horror movie I was too scared to watch. It was called Candyman. It was about this supernatural killer who would attack his victims if they said his name five times into a bathroom mirror. But did you know that the movie Candyman

was partly inspired by an actual murder? I was struck by both how spooky it was, but also how outrageous it was. Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, early and ad-free on Wondery Plus and the Wondery app. That child has been a blessing to me she's my whole life my life didn't happen until shana was born retired school teacher sharon hubers can't comprehend how her daughter stands charged with murder. Now she's poised to stand by her only child as the defense puts on its case.

Shana Hubers has never said anything to anybody in this case other than I had to do it to save my life. I did this in self-defense. Defense attorney David Mejia doesn't deny that Shana Hubers shot and killed Ryan Poston. But he must now convince the jury that Ryan was the aggressor that night. Mejia argues that for Shana, it was kill or be killed. And he recites what Shana told police. He would have killed me.

It was scary. I'm scared. Oh, my God, that's frightening. I'm scared. I could have died. Your phone's calling Mr. Sharon Hubers. Sharon Hubers. Sharon is the first to take the stand.

It would be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Yes, sir. She wants everyone to know about her wonderful daughter. She enrolled at Eastern Kentucky University. She decided she wanted to be a school guidance counselor. In every way, she's been brilliant. While proud of her daughter, Sharon did not have a good feeling about Ryan.

Would you please describe it, at least what you saw? Sharon tells the jury she was worried when she first met Ryan at his condo and saw his array of guns. Loaded guns about. There were two on the love seat in the living room. Sharon then testifies about the time leading up to Ryan's death, describing that frantic call from her daughter shortly after 3 a.m., some 18 hours before Ryan was shot. Shana was at Ryan's and complained of chest pains. She was sick.

She was in pain. There was fear in her voice. There was fear in her voice. So she hopped in her car and drove more than 80 miles to be at Shana's side. She was shaking. She was grabbing her left arm. Sharon testifies Ryan never came out of his bedroom. And Shana refused to see a doctor.

Clearly feeling better, Shana and her mother later spent the day shopping. But much of that time, Shana was furiously texting Ryan, writing in part, I am being placed on medicine that will help my blood pressure. And later, I am so thankful that my mom came and took me to the doctor. None of it was true? None of it was true. Why was she saying these things? I am so thankful that my mom came and took me to the doctor. None of it was true? None of it was true. Why was she saying these things?

To get his sympathy. If he felt sorry for her, then maybe she still had a chance. That evening, Sharon left Shana in front of Ryan's condo complex. Hours later, she receives another frantic call. Ryan was dead. She reveals to the jury that Shaina called her first before calling 911. She was hysterical, terrified, in shock. What were your words to Shaina? Shaina, call 911 and tell them where you are and exactly what happened. Why would Shaina call mom instead of the police after this traumatic experience in having to shoot her boyfriend?

I have no idea why she would do that. This is the only thing that I can surmise from it, is that she was trying to come up with her defense. She threw me across the room. I have no idea why she would do that. This is the only thing that I can surmise from it, is that she was trying to come up with her defense. He threw me across the room, and I was very startled. I was laying on the floor. The night of October 12, 2012, the defense argues Ryan Poston had reached his boiling point. And he's got a lawsuit confronting him that he can't take.

He was being sued by his former law partner. They point to Facebook messages he sent weeks before he died. Referring to the man who's suing him, Ryan writes, I want this piece of ass destroyed. Bury him neck deep at low tide. Throw darts at his head. That's a threat. 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.

The defense maintains these messages show Ryan had a dangerous temper, fueled by drugs he was prescribed. had a dangerous temper, fueled by drugs he was prescribed. Eight months before his murder, he wrote to a friend, the stuff they put me on fills me with rage from what I can tell. He was taken to pretty strong drugs. Ryan's friend, Allie Wagner, says Ryan had turned to the drugs to cope with the stress of the lawsuit. He said, I'm taking Adderall to wake up and I'm taking Xanax to go to bed. But she insists he was still the same guy she met 10 years earlier.

He was still normal. I mean, I saw him the day before he died and he was fine. All right, would you call your witness, please? Dr. Saeed Jortani. Saeed Jortani. Now, a toxicologist takes the stand. Sir, if you would have a seat. Who says the mixing of those prescription drugs could have frightening effects.

What these drugs do, they basically cause incidents of behavioral discontrol and hostile outbursts. The defense contends Ryan snapped, attacking Shana. Mejia reminds jurors what he believes happened, that Ryan Poston was standing and moving when Shana shot him six times. Even Shana's own words do not support the theory that was presented in court. She never said that he was standing. But when I shot him, he was like this, literally. That's when I knew he was dead, And what Shana said next unknowingly made her the star witness for the prosecution. In the head. I shot him in the head.

I shot him probably six times. I shot him in the head. He fell onto the ground. He was like laying like this. His glasses were still on. He was twitching some more. I shot him a couple more times just to make sure he was dead. But a former medical examiner for the state of Kentucky, Dr. George Nichols,

testifies Ryan could still have been a threat to Shana, even after he was shot. He could move. The chest wounds, the front and back wounds, the armpit wounds, they would not cause him to lose the ability to walk at least some or move some. They would not cause him to lose the ability to walk at least some or move some. Shana Hubers, the young woman who couldn't stop talking to police, doesn't take the stand. But her attorney will demonstrate. The gun is on the table. How he believes the shooting went down.

Her statement was, he reached for the gun and i grabbed it self-defense as closing arguments begin defense attorney david mejia mocks the prosecution's claim that Shana Huber's obsession led to Ryan's murder. She keeps calling her boyfriend and he can't get rid of her. She's a murderer. She keeps hounding him and hounding him with texts and emails and so she's a cold-blooded murderer. Are you buying that? Now, in a case that never lacks drama... We're going to take a moment to bring out the table. Mejia reenacts Ryan's shooting with Cole counsel Rachel Nugent playing the role of Shana Hubers.

Her statement was, he reached for the gun. And I grabbed it. First shot to the head as he's reaching down to her as she's below him. But in a dueling demonstration... Again, the evidence doesn't lie. Prosecutor Michelle Snodgrass argues that Mejia's theory is not supported by the forensic evidence.

The trajectory was in a downward downward angle. There is no way that from the ground that that shot occurred. It's just not physically possible. And the prosecutor doesn't miss

a chance to scoff at Shana's claim of self-defense. What other choice does she have? What other choice? Certainly can't call it a suicide, right? Certainly can't call six bullets into his body in accident. Snodgrass wants jurors to focus on Shana's behavior, which she likens to a performance. When the cops walk out of the room, watch what the actress does. Do you smoke? I will. I can't. All right, you can go ahead and have a seat. I'll get you a cigarette, too.

Okay. I'm with you, Jess. Just a second. You're fine. The minute he walks out of the room, the crying stops. That's the actress. Within hours of putting six bullets into Ryan Poston and watching him die, she danced and sang. Yes, I did. She's shown us that she's a liar.

She's shown us that she's a liar. She's shown us that she's a manipulator. And most importantly, what she showed us on October 12, 2012, is that she's a murderer. The case goes to the jury shortly before 6.30 p.m. on April 23, 2015. Family and friends anxiously wait as deliberations go late into the night. Then, just before 11.30, a verdict is reached. It is time for Shana to learn her fate. Will the jury find the defendant, Shana Hubers, guilty of murder under... Guilty.

24-year-old Shana Hubers, once a promising graduate student, is now a convicted murderer. For Ryan's family, there is enormous relief that justice has been served. For Shana's mother, there is shock and disbelief. What was that moment like for you when you heard guilty? That's difficult to explain, Peter, because I was terrified and it was surreal. I didn't see how on earth that it could have been that. That could have been the outcome.

how on earth that it could have been that. That could have been the outcome. Court reconvenes the next morning as jurors will now hear testimony from both sides to determine Shana's sentence. Her lawyers ask the jury for lenience. The accomplishments, the good deeds, should not and cannot be ignored. Miss Carter, would you raise your right hand? Katie Carter, one of Ryan's sisters, takes the stand to share her heartache. He made us complete. And without him, there is always a chair that's going to be empty. He will never be able to get married. He will never be able to get married.

He'll never be able to have kids. He'll never be able to go to his kids' baseball games. He will never be able to have all the things that he deserved to have in his life. It takes the jury only about an hour to make its recommendation. We, the jury, fix the defendant, Sh Shannon Huber's punishment for the offense of murder at 40 years confinement in the penitentiary. 40 years. The judge will later decide whether to accept the jury's suggested sentence. For Ryan's parents, it doesn't ease the pain of their loss.

It's a shallow victory. Our son is dead. Never for one second did we ever think that there was any, any physical violence from a young man who had a kind and gentle heart. I'm talking about how you're going from here. One day at a time. One day at a time. One minute at a time, one hour at a time, one day at a time. One day at a time. One minute at a time, one hour at a time, one day at a time. They will need all the strength they can muster. Three months later, they are back in court for a hearing.

We are here on a number of issues, folks. The defense wants a shorter sentence for Shana, so they're trying to prove that she was a victim of domestic violence at the hands of Ryan. That would make her eligible for parole after serving eight years. But first, under Kentucky law, the defense must prove the two live together despite what she told police. I don't live with him. Okay, more than 80 miles away. Now she takes the stand, trying to convince the judge she was Ryan's live-in girlfriend. By reading texts, the two sent each other. Shana says, I'm going to fry boneless chicken breast for dinner. Does that sound good?

Ryan says that sounds good. But the prosecutor confronts Shana with evidence that she was also seen other men. Were you with 10 other men during that, during this whole time that we're talking about? 2012, 10 different men. How are you saying, was I with them? Like, are you saying that I, was I friends with them? If I can approach. You slept with 10 different men during 2012. In answer to your question, sure, I may have slept with 10 guys in 2012, but I don't see how that's relevant to any of this. The judge finds that Shana and Ryan were not domestic partners.

It's now up to the judge to issue his final sentence and the defense will make one last desperate call for mercy. It has been nearly three years since Shana Huber shot Ryan Poston, including a final bullet as he helplessly twitched on the floor. All right, how many witnesses do each side propose for sentencing? Now, at her sentencing hearing, Shana wants the judge to give her something Ryan was denied, mercy. Forty years for someone who was 21 when this happened is too much, Your Honor. But Ryan's friend, Allie Wagner, thinks the 40-year sentence the jury has recommended is not enough.

I would like her to stay in prison for the rest of her life and have to think about why she's there for the rest of her life. But Shaina's supporters believe the jury never heard the whole story. That Ryan had a history of aggressive behavior. Did she ever approach you and discuss with you any acts of violence between her and Ryan? Yes. In a story not told at trial, They were out there arguing. Ryan's neighbor, Nikki Carnes, says a few months before the murder, Shana came to her in tears.

A few months before the murder, Shana came to her in tears. She came to my door crying and her arm probably from 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 her on the floor in the hallway. And when she told you this story, what did you see on her face? She was clearly upset. There were handprints on her arm. And I told her, Shana, you need to call the cops. You know, you need to report this. And she wouldn't do it.

If true, Nikki Karn's story could be significant. But prosecutor Cheryl Heater is certain it isn't. Ms. Karns, you indicated that Shana Kubers told you what the red marks came from, correct? Yeah. Okay. And you were not present at trial when an inmate testified. That inmate was Holly Nivens, Shana's cellmate. Nivens testified at trial that Shana made the whole thing up. She would purposely, like, pull her arms up so the neighbors would see bruises on her arms. Did she say how the bruises got there? She inflicted them.

I'm sorry? She inflicted them on herself. Were you in the courtroom when that was testified to? Another friend, Christina Keeling, a nurse, tells the judge of the Shana she knows. She's a very sweet, gentle, happy person. She's not this horrible person that she's been portrayed as. Keeling testifies that Shana once came to her appearing to be in pain. Shana told her it was from a sexual encounter with Ryan that spiraled out of control.

Did she inform you that she had said no? Multiple times. Tina, I was screaming, I was crying. You pushed my face into a pillow so I wouldn't yell so loud. I said no, I said stop. So she said those things multiple times. It's just total lies to get out of, to escape responsibility for what she's done.

It's infuriating for Ryan's mentor, Ken Hawley, to listen to the sensational allegations. There's just absolutely nothing in any of the real evidence that we've seen that suggests in any way that Ryan was violent or ever raised a hand or did anything. And, sir, I'll remind you you're still on the road with us, all right? Defense expert psychologist Ed Connor,

who evaluated Shana, diagnosed her with narcissism and low self-esteem. I think Shana was a person who had extreme difficulty with rejection and tolerating it. He then described the couple's alleged rough sex. They had engaged in exosadomasochism, which she would go along with to a point, but at times she felt like it went too far.

But again, texts tell a different tale, that Shana actually encouraged the kinky sex. I have all these cute corsets and stuff that I've never worn. Wouldn't that be kind of hot? And we could like role play. Ryan's response, I really don't think I'd be into it. Anything else? Call Shana Kubers.

Ms. Kubers, come forward, please. Now it's up to Shana to convince the judge that somehow she was also a victim in this case. A killer who deserves sympathy. It's sad when someone pushes you away and pulls you back in and pushes you away and pulls you back in. There were times when he had my head going ten different directions to where I didn't even know if that was my boyfriend or not or what he was to me. Shana seems filled with resentment. I feel like I was let on. I feel like I was manipulated, used and abused. And no, Ryan didn't beat on me every day.

I'm not going to sit up here and exaggerate and lie and say that he did, but he did put hands on me a handful of times. Armed with Shana's own words from her pre-sentencing report, Prosecutor Michelle Snodgrass Ms. Hubers, you've had the opportunity to read your pre-sentencing report. confront Shana with something she didn't say. Can you point me to the part in that where you said you are sorry for taking another human being's life? I, can I see it? Let me rephrase it. You didn't say that, did you?

Here's what Shana did say. Not getting away from him before October the 12th was the gravest mistake, was my gravest mistake that I'll regret for the rest of my life, and for that I'm very sorry. The gravest mistake of your life wasn't putting six bullets into another human being. The gravest mistake in your life wasn't lying to everybody who cared about you in your life.

The gravest mistake was that. That's your gravest mistake in life. Shana was speechless. There's something wrong with that girl. There mistake in life. Shana was speechless. There's something wrong with that girl. There's something missing in her brain or her heart or her soul. The prosecutor circles back to what she believes is at the heart of this case, rejection. Isn't it true that you sat here

and you heard Dr. Conner say that you do not take rejection well? Dr. Conner did say that I don't take rejection well. You were rejected, whether it had been earlier in the day 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, this is it, no more, I need space.

You were rejected by him not just once, but many times. If I killed Ryan over rejection, he would have been dead. Then ask you what you killed Ryan over. I asked you if you were rejected by him. Sure, I've been rejected. I've been rejected. Nothing further, Your Honor. But if that were motive, there'd be a graveyard for rejected. Nothing further, Your Honor. But if that were motive, there'd be a graveyard for men. Nothing further, Your Honor.

Did Shana's plan to persuade the court to be lenient backfire? The judge will now decide. I just always thought that I was going to see Ryan make it so big. And he was on his way. He really was. He was too smart to not ever make it big. In the days before he was shot six times by Shana Hubers, Ryan Poston's future seemed brighter than ever. He had settled with his ex-law partner and was lining up new clients. If you had an opportunity to speak with Shana today, what would you say to her?

I would say, what possessed you to be so evil? How could you look at him sitting there and shoot him in the face? How is that possible? I've never claimed to be perfect. With the judge moments away from deciding her sentence, Shana clings to her claim of self-defense right to the bitter end. I never planned for that to happen that night. For the first time, she offers an apology. And I'm sorry to my family,

and I'm sorry to my friends for letting them down. I am sorry for the money that my parents have had to spend on attorneys. But the young woman who was diagnosed a narcissist never apologizes to Ryan's family. Instead, she talks about herself. I do want to help people. I do want to be something better.

And I do want to continue to grow and learn. And I just don't think that a 40-year sentence will help me. I don't think it would benefit me any. I don't think that a 40-year sentence will help me. I don't think it would benefit me any. I don't think that it would rehabilitate me any. Now it's Judge Fred Stein's turn to speak. And he has some choice words for Shana. What I think happened in that apartment was little more than cold-blooded murder. It's probably as cold-blooded an act as I've been associated with in the criminal justice system in the 30-plus years I've been in it. He upholds the jury's recommended sentence of 40 years.

Shana will be eligible for parole after serving 20. That's about all there is to say. As Ryan's family leaves the courthouse, they can barely contain their anger. He could not be mean to another human being, and she took advantage of that at every opportunity. Is there anything you'd want to say to Shana? Oh, God, no.

That rotten hell. She is going where she deserves to be. Where she's going, her mommy can't help her. Mommy will always be there. Shana's mother will never accept that her beloved, brilliant daughter is anything but innocent. I'll draw my last breath helping that baby. She doesn't deserve this. She's done nothing wrong. I think about him every day. But those who loved Ryan Poston are left to deal with the void in their lives. Nothing can make it better. To honor his beloved friend, Matt Herron named his baby boy Carter, Ryan's middle name. Still hard to believe he's gone. It is, even today. There's still moments that I think, I wonder what Ryan thinks about this.

And it hits hard every time. Shana Huber's appeals attorney is asking for a new trial. A convicted felon served on the jury and should have been disqualified. Do you think Shana should get a new trial? Chat now with correspondent Peter Van Sant on Twitter. If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at wondery.com slash survey.