PEORIA, ILLINOIS — An Illinois jury has begun deliberations in the first-degree murder trial of a sheriff’s deputy who shot him. Sonia Masseya black woman in her home who called 911 for help and was later killed because of the way she was handling a bowl of hot water.
The jury of eight women and four men received the case just after 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. Jurors must decide whether Sean Grayson31, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for shooting Massey at her Springfield home. If convicted, he faces 45 years or life in prison. They were also given the option of considering second-degree murder, which ranges from four to twenty years.
Grayson and another deputy responded to an emergency call made by Massey reporting a troll outside the 36-year-old woman’s home early on the morning of July 6, 2024.
In closing arguments, prosecutors described Grayson as an “angry man with a gun” whose impatience with Massey, who was having a mental health episode, inflamed his temper.
When Massey retrieved a pot of steaming water from the stove, Grayson gave clear orders to drop it, defense attorneys said. They said he only fired when she said: I rebuke you in the name of JesusIn the ensuing confusion, she picked up the frying pan again and acted as if she was going to throw it and burn him.
Massey’s killing has raised new questions about U.S. law enforcement shootings Black people in their homes. The publicity, protests, and legal action accompanying the incident prompted Judge Ryan Cadagin to move the trial from Springfield, 200 miles (320 kilometers) southwest of Chicago, to Peoria, an hour’s drive north of D.C., due to pretrial publicity.
In an unusual move for a defendant in a murder case, Grayson testified in his own defense. Grayson said he considered using a stun gun to subdue her but was afraid that wouldn’t work given his distance from Massey and the meter separating them. He said he decided Massey was a threat and only pulled his 9mm pistol after she uttered a “reprimand” twice — although prosecutors suggested that was because he didn’t hear her the first time and asked her to repeat it.
Second-degree murder applies when there is “serious provocation” that “would arouse the anger of a reasonable person” or if the incident could be characterized as “imperfect self-defense,” where the defendants believe their actions are justified even if that belief is unreasonable.