PEORIA, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois sheriff’s deputy who killed Sonya Massey in her Springfield home last year eschewed his training and the principles of policing when he shot the Black woman who had called 911 for help, a prosecutor said Wednesday in Sean Grayson’s murder trial.
Grayson, who is white, faces three counts of first-degree murder for shooting the 36-year-old single mother on July 6, 2024, during a confrontation over her handling of a pot of hot water she removed from her stove.
Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser told the jury of eight women and four men in Peoria, where the trial was moved due to national attention, that body camera video will show Massey posed no threat when Grayson and another Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy, Dawson Farley, entered her home. Massey, who had mental health problems, had called 911 about a suspected prowler.
“She’s a little scattered but she’s nice and kind and talking to him and you’ll see that interaction,” Milhiser said. “You will see what happens when the defendant gets mad at a woman who is in her kitchen and has called for help. He gets mad and shoots and kills her without lawful justification.”
“He did not follow his training. He did not follow police principles.”
But Grayson’s attorney, Daniel Fultz, implored the jury not to make a hasty decision. He said when Massey approached with the pan of water, Grayson repeatedly demanded she put it down before “making a decision no police officer wants to make.”
“Ms. Massey lifted the pot of water above her head and the evidence will show that the use of force was reasonable under the circumstances without the benefit of 20/20 hindsight,” Fultz said. “What happened to Ms. Massey was a tragedy, but it was not a crime.”
The killing has prompted continued questions about U.S. law enforcement shootings of Black people in their homes and generated a change in Illinois law requiring fuller transparency on the background of candidates for law enforcement jobs.
Grayson, 31, has pleaded not guilty. If convicted of murder, he faces 45 years to life in prison. Prosecutors dismissed single counts of aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct.
Grayson and Farley had entered Massey’s home to report they had found no suspicious activity when Grayson noticed the pan on the stove and ordered it removed.
According to body camera video that is certain to play a key role in the trial, Grayson and Massey joked about how the deputy backed away as she moved the pan before Massey said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” Grayson later told sheriff’s investigators he thought Massey’s statement meant she intended to kill him. He yelled at her to drop the pot and in the subsequent commotion, fired three shots, striking her just below the eye.
Illinois State Police Lt. Eric Weston, a crime scene investigator, testified Wednesday that he retrieved two casings from the home shortly after the shooting, then returned two days later after learning about the third gunshot.
Investigators did not collect the pan for weeks, Weston acknowledged during questioning by defense attorney Mark Wykoff.
“You knew an hour after the event occurred that the pot was basically employed as a weapon, but you didn’t collect it then,” Wykoff said. “You didn’t collect it during the second search when the third casing was collected. You collected it about two weeks later.”
Farley was expected to testify later in the day.
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