Jan. 29 (UPI) — An Illinois judge sentenced a former sheriff’s deputy to 20 years in prison Thursday for the shooting death of a 36-year-old woman who had called authorities to her home about a possible prowler.
Sangamon County Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin sentenced Sean Grayson to 20 years in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, minus time served while on trial. He shot Sonya Massey three times in the face, killing her July 6, 2024.
The sentence is the maximum possible for the second-degree murder charge conviction, which carries a potential sentence of between 4 and 20 years in prison.
Sangamon County sheriff’s deputies visited Sonya Massey’s Springfield house after she called about a possible intruder on the premises.
They questioned her inside the home and asked her to check on a pot of boiling water she had on the stove.
Body camera footage showed Sonya Massey removing the pot from the stove and Grayson telling her to “walk away from your hot, steaming water.” Sonya Massey repeated his command and said twice: “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
Body camera footage showed her appearing to pour the water into the sink as Grayson threatened to shoot her in the face. Sonya Massey apologized and ducked down behind her kitchen counter. When she stood up, Grayson shot her three times in the face.
Sonya Massey’s daughter, Summer Massey, 16, told media she was grateful for Cadagin giving Grayson the maximum sentence.
“I’m grateful that we got the maximum sentence that we could,” Summer said. “Twenty years is not enough, but … they did what they could do.”
Summer Massey said she believed Grayson does not understand or care about the harm he caused to her, her brother and their family.
Her brother, Malachi Massey, 19, said he endured “unimaginable pain” when his mother was killed.
“My soul is ripped,” he said, adding: “It’s like a part of me is really dead.”
Grayson, who is white, apologized for shooting Sonya Massey, who was Black, and said he made “terrible decisions” that led to her death.
“I was very unprofessional that night,” Grayson told the court. “She didn’t deserve to be yelled and cussed at and called names. Nobody deserves that.”
Cadigan responded that Grayson’s “unreasonable rage needs to be deterred” while sentencing him.
Although Grayson, 31, received the maximum sentence of 20 years, he could be released in half that time for good behavior.
A jury deliberated for nearly 12 hours before rendering the guilty verdict in October.