Sonya Massey killed by gunshot wound to the head, autopsy finds

The White sheriff’s deputy who shot her in the face, Sean Grayson, 30, was charged with first-degree murder last week. A use-of-force expert with the Illinois State Police, which investigated the shooting, determined that it was not justified, prosecutor Mary Rodgers said in court documents.

Massey, 36, was the mother of two teenagers, a son and a daughter. She loved cooking, doing hair and being with her children, according to a GoFundMe page created by her family. She was a slight 112 pounds and was in her nightgown and pajama pants when she was killed, the autopsy report showed.

The killing has drawn widespread condemnation, including a large protest Thursday in Manhattan, and grief among Black Americans. More than 1,170 people have been killed by police in the past 12 months, according to a Washington Post database, and Black Americans are killed at more than twice the rate of White Americans.

This week, President Biden called on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a set of reforms named after the 46-year-old Black man killed by Minneapolis police in 2020. It was approved by the Democratic-controlled House in March 2021, but negotiations fizzled out in the Senate. A renewed push to pass it in 2023, after Memphis police killed Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, also failed because of opposition from Republicans.

“Sonya’s death at the hands of a responding officer reminds us that all too often Black Americans face fears for their safety in ways many of the rest of us do not,” Biden said in a statement.

Massey called 911 from her Springfield, Ill., home on July 6 to report a prowler. When Grayson and another deputy showed up around 12:50 a.m., they inspected the property and interacted with her for nearly 20 minutes.

Then, when Grayson saw a pot on the stove, he told her to take it off the burner, body-camera footage released Monday showed. Massey did, taking it to the sink. When Grayson said he was moving into the living room to get away from “hot, steaming water,” she said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”

Grayson then drew his gun and pointed it at Massey, threatening to shoot her in the face. She ducked and said “Okay, I’m sorry.” Grayson came toward her, allegedly firing three times.

This developing story will be updated.