SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS– SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois sheriff’s deputy accused of murder is on trial Sonia Masseya Black woman who was shot in her home last year after asking police for help, is scheduled to begin Monday.
Shawn Grayson, 31, responded to a call about a suspected prowler, who shot 36-year-old Massey in her Springfield home early on July 6, 2024, after confronting her about how she handled a pot of hot water that Grayson had ordered off her stove.
Jurors will present their report on Monday and the trial could continue until next week.
Massey’s killing has raised new questions about U.S. law enforcement shootings Black people in their homes And drive change in Illinois law requires fuller transparency On the background of candidates for law enforcement jobs.
Here’s what to know about the charges.
In addition to first-degree murder, Grayson was charged with aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. He has pleaded not guilty.
Widespread attention to Grayson’s shooting of Massey prompted Sangamon County Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin to move the trial from Springfield, 200 miles (322 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. Instead, jurors will come from Peoria and surrounding areas, an hour’s drive north, and will hear the case in their local court.
Grayson, who is white, faces 45 years to life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder.
After Grayson and another deputy checked the area around Massey’s home, body camera video showed Grayson knocked on her door to report that nothing suspicious had been found. He entered the house to obtain details of a report, noticed a frying pan on the stove and ordered it removed. Massey picked it up.
I asked Grayson, laughing, why he was holding back; He said he was trying to avoid “hot, steamy water.” “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” Massey replied. “I interpreted this to mean,” Grayson wrote in the incident report She was going to kill me“.
According to the body camera video, Grayson pulled out his 9mm handgun and yelled at Massey to drop the pot. She apologized, then put the pan down and leaned behind the counter, but in the confusion, when Grayson shouted, she apparently picked it up again. Grayson fired three times and was struck Macy only once under the left eye.
Massey, a single mother of two teenagers with a strong religious faith, had been struggling with mental health issues. When she responded to Grayson’s blow minutes before the shooting, she said, “Don’t hurt me,” and later, when she was questioned and Grayson asked if she was okay, she repeatedly said, “Please, God.”
Earlier that same week, Sonya Massey herself admitted to 30-day inpatient mental health program In St. Louis but returned two days later without explanation.
County records indicate that in the days before the shooting, Three 911 calls were made By or on behalf of Macy. In one of them, her mother, Donna Massey, told authorities that her daughter was having a “mental breakdown.” Donna Massey also told the dispatcher: “I don’t want you guys to hurt her.”
Grayson was unaware of the calls or Massey’s background. County officials have since said there is no practical way to identify that information and report it to police responding to emergency calls.
It was Grayson He was arrested 11 days after Massey was killed and shot From the Sheriff’s Department.
While examining his background, Massey’s family and others wondered why Grayson, who had been a Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy for 14 months, would arrest him. It was set at all.
In his early twenties, he was expelled from the Army because he was arrested for drunk driving and carrying a gun in his car. He was convicted of DUI again during the year.
Before joining the Sangamon County Police Department, Grayson had four police jobs in six years — the first three of which were part-time.
There was no indication that Grayson had been fired from any job, but evaluations from previous employers documented concerns about him. One department reported that while Grayson was a hard worker and had a good behavior, he struggled with writing reports, was not “good at handling evidence – he left items lying around the office” and was “bragging.”
Jack Campbell, Sangamon County Sheriff, He was forced to retire Six weeks after shooting. Despite this, he insisted that none of Grayson’s issues would prevent him from serving as an MP.
State law enforcement has certified Grayson to serve in each of his previous jobs, with the exception of Campbell She asked him to attend the police academy for 16 weeks The course though.
In August, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a law requiring prospective police officers to allow the release of all personal and employment background records to any law enforcement agency considering hiring them. The measure’s legislative sponsors acknowledged that it does not prevent candidates with checkered paths from getting hired, but it provides greater transparency.