Deputy Sean Grayson has been fired and charged with murder for the shooting. He has pleaded not guilty. The family says the DOJ is investigating.
An autopsy report released Friday by Sangamon County officials shows Springfield resident Sonya Massey was killed by a gunshot wound just under her left eye.
Massey, 36, had called law enforcement to her home to report a possible intruder. Then-Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson, one of the responding officers, shot her in the head, saying he feared Massey would throw a pot of boiling water at him. Body camera footage, however, shows Massey ducking for cover behind her kitchen counter with her hands in the air before Grayson fired at her.
Massey was pronounced dead just an hour after she made the 911 call.
“The autopsy confirms what everybody already knows from the video,” civil rights attorney Ben Crump said at a press conference Friday. “This was just a senseless, unnecessary excessive use of force. Completely unnecessary, certainly not justified.”
Crump is representing Massey’s family. Previously he represented the families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Crump said the U.S. Justice Department is investigating the shooting.
A spokesperson with the U.S. Department of Justice told WBEZ the agency is “aware of and assessing the circumstances surrounding the tragic officer-involved death” and extended “condolences to her family and loved ones.” The spokesman said the DOJ will continue to track the criminal case opened by the Sangamon County State’s Attorney.
