PEORIA, Ill. — On Thursday, the murder trial of former Sangamon County deputy Sean Grayson took a harrowing turn with the presentation of graphic testimony.
Grayson is facing charges related to the fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, which occurred at her Springfield, Illinois residence in July 2024.
During the proceedings, Illinois State Police crime scene experts provided detailed accounts of the evidence they gathered from Massey’s home.
The jury was also presented with distressing photographs from Massey’s autopsy, prompting Grayson to avert his gaze while a member of Massey’s family chose to leave the courtroom.
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Prosecutors argued on Wednesday that the Illinois sheriff’s deputy, by shooting the Black woman who had dialed 911 seeking assistance, disregarded his law enforcement training and violated policing principles.
Grayson, who is white, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder for the death of the 36-year-old single mother, following a dispute on July 6, 2024, related to her handling of a pot of hot water.
The jury watched unedited body camera video of the encounter, prompting some jurors to recoil and cover their mouths while Grayson looked down for much of it. Massey’s mother left the courtroom in tears.
Earlier, Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser told the jury that the video would show Massey posed no threat when Grayson and fellow 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 during opening statements. “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.”
Grayson’s attorney, Daniel Fultz, told the jury that when Massey approached with the pot 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.”
READ MORE | Family speaks out 1 year after Sonya Massey shot, killed by former IL deputy: ‘Miss her every day’
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 pot on the stove and ordered it removed.
The body camera video shows Grayson and Massey joking about how the deputy backed away as she moved the pot 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. In the subsequent commotion, he fired three shots, striking her just below the eye.
Farley testified that he drew his weapon after Grayson did because department policy calls for a deputy to do so when a partner does.
“She just never did or said anything that made me think she was a threat,” Farley said. “Looking across the room and seeing my partner draw his gun – it was the defendant’s actions that made me have a heightened sense of awareness.”
Under Fultz’s questioning, Farley acknowledged that his initial report days after the shooting claimed he feared for his safety from the hot water and that Massey held the pot chest high. Farley said that after Grayson was indicted he sought to amend his statement to the Illinois State Police to “clarify” that it was Grayson’s response, not the hot water, that rattled him and that it was an oven mitt, not the pot, that Massey held chest-high.
At the time, Farley was serving a one-year probationary period and subject to firing for any reason. He said his union representative advised against further state police contact.
Earlier, Illinois State Police Lt. Eric Weston, a crime scene investigator, told defense attorney Mark Wykoff that he collected two shell casings from Grayson’s 9 mm pistol at Massey’s home the morning of the shooting. The third casing was picked up days later, when he learned three shots had been fired. But the pot sat untouched in the house for weeks.
“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 cartridge was collected. You collected it about two weeks later.”
ABC7 Chicago contributed to this report.
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