Killer Obsession: Shayna Hubers and the Murder of Ryan Poston

By late 2012, Ryan was over it. He wanted a mature, easy relationship. He wanted someone to spend his life with. He didn’t want the drama or the instability. He wanted love. And he may have found it.

On October 12, 2012, Ryan had a date. But it was not with Shayna; it was with another woman. Ryan was very excited and his face lit up when talking about it with a friend. 

Her name was Audrey Bolte. But she wasn’t just any girl. Audrey was Miss Ohio in 2012. She was beautiful, blonde, outgoing, and motivated.

And Ryan was hooked.

But in order to have a carefree and fun night with Audrey, Ryan lied to Shayna and told her he was hanging out with a coworker.

Ryan had been trying to find the courage to break up with Shayna once and for all but according to his friend Tom Awadalla, “He just wasn’t able to. He was too nice, didn’t want to hurt her feelings.”

Ryan was also worried about how Shayna would react to him ending things. She had gotten so obsessive that her actions really worried him.

“This is getting to be restraining-order-level crazy. She’s shown up at my condo like 3 times and refuses to leave each time,” Ryan once told his cousin.

But for one night, Ryan wanted to be single and available and see where things led with the new woman in his life. 

Ryan and Audrey had planned to meet at a local bar at 9 p.m. on Friday, October 12, 2012. But the time was pushed back to 10 p.m. This time change would prove to be fatal for Ryan Poston. 

As Audrey waited at the bar, Ryan was having one final confrontation with Shayna.

This is when Shayna's 911 call came in to police dispatch.

Shayna spoke briefly with officers before being taken to the Highland Heights police station for further questioning. From the moment Shayna stepped foot inside the interrogation room, it was apparent that she had no idea she was being recorded.

While in the presence of officers, she would be hysterically crying…but without any real tears.

And the moment officers stepped outside of the room, the crying stopped and her face became blank. Like the flip of switch.

After being advised of her Miranda rights, Shayna immediately requested an attorney. And although the questioning halted, Shayna kept right on talking.

She began asking if she would be going home that night. Once the officer advised that she probably would go to jail, she asked how long. Shayna expressed concern that Ryan was an attorney and his family was “a bunch of attorneys.”

She once again declared it was self-defense and then began describing why. “…he was throwing me around the room, like picking me up and like ad my face and stuff.”

Each time she talked about the events of the night, she kept adding more and more details. It almost seemed as if she was already prepping for her own trial.

Shayna described how she first shot Ryan in the face. “He’s very vain,” she said. “I shot him right here,” as she motioned to her nose. “I gave him his nose job.”

Shayna then proceeded to shoot Ryan several more times.

“I walked around the table. And I think that’s when I shot him in the head. I shot him probably six times.” She explained that she shot him multiple times “to make sure he was dead.”

Even more bizarre than her need to keep talking and incriminating herself, were her actions whenever left alone in the interrogation room.

One minute, she would belt out “Amazing Grace”. The next, she was dancing. 

But then she started talking to herself. “I’m so good at acting.”

And while hopping around the room, snapping her fingers to a tune only she could hear, she began chanting, “I did it. Yes, I did it. I can’t believe I did that.”

Shayna was arrested and charged with murder and taken to jail where she was held on a $5 million bond. 

During her trial, evidence proved that there had not been a struggle or violent encounter between Shayna and Ryan, debunking her claim of self-defense.

But what investigators found on Shayna’s phone sealed her fate: a picture of Shayna holding a gun at a shooting range with the caption: 

“When I go to the shooting range with Ryan tonight, I want to turn around, shoot and kill him, and play like it was an accident.”

On April 23, 2015, Shayna was found guilty of murder. But the conviction was soon overturned when it was discovered one of the jurors was a convicted felon.

Her second trial began on August 8, 2018. With an all-new defense team, the strategy of self-defense was changed to battered woman syndrome.

But the jury didn’t buy it and Shayna Hubers was once again found guilty of the murder of Ryan Poston. She is currently serving a life sentence at the Kentucky Correctional Institute for Women.

She will be eligible for parole in 2032.

Featured image: All That's Interesting