PEORIA — A downstate jury convicted a white ex-cop of second-degree murder Wednesday for fatally shooting Sonya Massey in a verdict that bitterly disappointed family members of the slain, unarmed Black woman.
Former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson was found guilty of one count for killing the 36-year-old Massey in her Springfield area home last year. Prosecutors had sought convictions on three counts of first-degree murder.
The fatal encounter between Grayson and Massey spurred changes in state policing laws and led to a $10 million settlement to her family from Sangamon County.
But it was the 36-minute police video showing Massey’s grisly killing that put her death and the trial in the nation’s conscience: It documented yet another instance of a white police officer using excessive force to kill a person of color who had done nothing criminal.
The idea that Grayson now won’t face the possibility of life in prison for his conviction on the lesser murder charge angered the shooting victim’s mother, Donna Massey.
“Anybody who saw the video and thinks that it was partly Sonya’s fault is inhumane,” she told reporters after the verdict.
“And for him to not get life, and Sonya got life and death — I can’t wait till he goes to hell,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
Sonya Massey had called police to her home because of a suspected prowler. Grayson and a colleague responded, and it took only a matter of minutes before their interactions took a deadly turn. Grayson shot Massey in the face as she cowered behind her counter. She bled to death on her kitchen floor.
Grayson testified that he shot Massey in self-defense, claiming she was about to throw a pot of boiling water at him. He said he told Massey multiple times to put the pot down, which had been on her stove top.
Grayson’s explanation did not add up to Massey’s father, James Wilburn, nor did the jury’s decision to convict Grayson on a lesser charge.
“There was no doubt in any of our minds that this was first-degree murder. I’m sure there’s no doubt in Sean Grayson’s mind,” Wilburn said. “But his attorneys were skillful enough that they threw crap against the wall. They said that my daughter was the aggressor.”
The second-degree murder conviction means Grayson could face between four and 20 years behind bars. Sentencing is set for Jan. 29.
The nine-woman, three-man jury, which included just one Black juror, took parts of two days to reach its verdict.
As the verdict was read, Grayson sat expressionless at the defense table, while his mother in the gallery choked back tears.
Afterward, Sonya Massey’s teenage daughter broke down in sobs as she and her family exited the courtroom, screaming that Grayson should have been convicted of first-degree murder.
Grayson’s defense team left the Peoria courthouse without talking to reporters, as did jurors.
Hours before the verdict, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker Wednesday reiterated his deep concerns about what he called Massey’s “murder” and expressed hope that her family would see a fair verdict.
“I’m hopeful for a verdict that will meet justice, and I read about much of the testimony that was given,” the governor said. “I don’t know what the outcome will be. I don’t want to guess at it or sound like I’m hopeful of something, in particular. But I do feel like Sonya Massey and her family, especially, deserve justice.”
Beyond Grayson’s testimony, the trial had several pivotal moments.
During opening statements, prosecutors played the footage from police body cameras that showed Grayson drawing his gun at Massey, who had her hands in the air. She said, “I’m sorry,” before ducking behind her counter.
Then, Grayson fired three shots at her, and she slumped to the floor. Some jurors recoiled in their seats and cried.
The Sangamon County pathologist who performed the autopsy on Massey, Dr. Nathaniel Patterson, said the bullet that struck Massey below her left eye missed her brain and instead severed her carotid artery. But he said she might have survived if first aid had been administered.
The police video showed Grayson initially discouraging his partner from retrieving a medical kit, saying, “It’s a headshot, dude. She’s done.”
During the trial, the Massey family could be seen on multiple occasions praying.
And after the long, emotional day in court Wednesday, Massey’s family turned again to their Christian faith.
“My Judeo-Christian upbringing tells me to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. So my joy here today is that I know I’ll see my baby again,” Massey’s father told reporters.
“Whenever the sun opens and Gabriel blows that horn,” Wilburn continued, “we’re going to leave here, and I’ll see her again.”
