WHITESBURG, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky judge who was gunned down in his courthouse chambers was remembered for his public service as mourners looked for answers to unravel a mystery still shaking their tiny Appalachian town — why their popular sheriff is behind bars and charged with the slaying.

A local sheriff ate lunch with a prominent district judge hours before allegedly shooting the judge in his chambers, according to a court official, who said the killing last Thursday has stunned the small community of Letcher County,

The sheriff was a defendant in a lawsuit arguing he failed to supervise a deputy who coerced women into having sex with him.