Sonya Massey, the Black woman fatally shot by a now-fired sheriff’s deputy at her Illinois home earlier this month, died from a gunshot wound to her head, an autopsy report released Friday confirmed.
Massey, a 36-year-old mother of two, was fatally shot by former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson as she apologized and held a pot of hot water, according to bodycam footage released earlier this week.
The incident unfolded in the early hours of July 6 in Springfield, some 200 miles southwest of Chicago.
Massey called 911 to report a possible prowler in the 2800 block of Hoover Ave. Grayson and a second unidentified deputy responded to her residence.
After a chaotic interaction, Grayson yelled at Massey, ordering her to set down the pot of hot water while aiming his firearm at her and threatening to shoot her in the face, according to a state police report.
He fired his 9mm pistol three times, officials said.
On Friday, a full autopsy report released by the Sangamon County Coroner’s Office confirmed the initial findings on Massey’s death.
She was shot beneath her left eye, the coroner’s office said, adding she “died as a result of a gunshot wound to the head.” She also had “minor blunt force injuries” to her right leg, according to the report.
Ben Crumps, the civil rights attorney representing Massey’s family, said the autopsy report “confirms what everybody already knows, that this was just a senseless, unnecessary, excessive use of force.”
When Massey was “staring at the barrel of his gun, she stooped down, said, ‘Sorry, sir, sorry,’ and the bullet was shot while she was in this stooped position, coming up,” Crump said.
Grayson, who’s white, was fired by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office on July 17, nearly two weeks after the incident. Records show he had been employed by six different police agencies since 2020.
Grayson has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct charges in the killing.
With News Wire Services
