Sonya Massey

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Justice Department Opens Inquiry in Sonya Massey Death

Deputy fatally shot 36-year-old in her Illinois home over a pot of boiled water

(Newser) - The Justice Department is opening a civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of an Illinois woman inside her own home by a sheriff's deputy. Sonya Massey, 36, was killed by former Sangamon County deputy Sean Grayson in July amid an exchange over a pot of boiling water. Grayson...

Cop in Fatal Shooting Worked for 6 Police Agencies in 4 Years

Sean Grayson who shot Sonya Massey 'should have never had a gun,' says victim's father

(Newser) - The former sheriff's deputy charged with murder in the fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman killed inside her Illinois home, had been employed by a half-dozen police agencies since 2020, the AP reports, citing state law enforcement records. Sean Grayson's career included short stints as...

Family Says Police Tried to Cover Up Sonya Massey's Killing

Family says police initially attempted to call her death a suicide

(Newser) - Sonya Massey's family says police initially attempted to cover up the Illinois woman's death and pass it off as self-inflicted, when it was actually a sheriff's deputy who fatally shot her after she called police to her home on July 6. In police audio obtained by the...

Bodycam Video Shows Deputy Shoot Woman After Pot Boiled

Sean Grayson has been indicted in the death of Sonya Massey

(Newser) - Sonya Massey ducked and apologized to an Illinois sheriff's deputy only seconds before he shot her three times in her own home, as seen in body camera video released Monday. The video's release came days after a grand jury indicted former Sangamon County Sheriff's Deputy Sean Grayson...

Prosecutors: Deputy Shot Woman Over Pot of Hot Water

Sean Grayson, now fired, said he feared for his safety when he shot Sonya Massey

(Newser) - The Illinois deputy charged with murdering a woman who called 911 shot her in the face after she handled a pot of steaming water, which he viewed as a threat, prosecutors say. Sean Grayson of the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office in Springfield, Illinois, is facing three counts of murder...

Deputy Charged With Murder of Woman Who Called 911

Illinois trooper responding to a call about a possible intruder killed Sonya Massey

(Newser) - A sheriff's deputy in Illinois who fatally shot a woman inside her home after she called 911 about a possible intruder has been charged with murder, reports the AP . Deputy Sean Grayson was indicted on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a firearm in the death of...

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