What Happened to Sonya Massey's Killer Sean Grayson After Murder Trial

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Sonya Massey called 911 at 12:50 a.m. on July 6, 2024, to report a possible prowler outside her Illinois home.

Sean Grayson, a former U.S. Army mechanic who at the time had been a Sangamon County Sheriff's deputy for 14 months, responded to the call along with a fellow officer.

Minutes later, Massey was dead.

Grayson was convicted of second-degree murder last October for shooting and killing the 36-year-old mother of two in her home. And he was six months into a 20-year prison sentence when he died Aug. 23 after having been denied a request for early medical release weeks prior.

His attorney Daniel L. Fultz confirmed Grayson's death at 32 to Oxygen.com.

The former deputy was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2023 and the defense—in arguing for a more lenient sentence in January—said that the disease had spread to his liver and lungs.

Instead, Grayson was given the maximum sentence of 20 years. In opposing his petition for early release, the Sangamon County State Attorney’s Office wrote in a July letter, "Cancer does not make him less dangerous."

Who was Sonya Massey?

Massey was a single mother of two teenagers, son Malachi Hill Massey and daughter Jeannette Massey, and she was close to her many cousins.

“She was just a ball of energy," Malachi told the Associated Press days after her death. "We’d go anywhere; if she wanted to talk to someone, she’d go talk to them. She was just a loving person. She always helped people, too.”

But Massey also struggled with her mental health. Less than 24 hours before she died, her mother Donna Massey called 911 to report that her daughter was having a breakdown.

"I don’t want you guys to hurt her, please,” Donna said in the July 5, 2024, call, according to the New York Times. She pleaded with the dispatcher not to send "combative policemen that are prejudiced." Told that the responding officers would just be doing their job, Donna replied that cops could be "scary."

What happened to Sonya Massey?

Massey herself called 911 shortly before 1 p.m. on July 6, according to a call report reviewed by the Times, which also noted that an officer subsequently spoke to Massey at a hospital where she sought treatment for her mental state.

Springfield Police said, per the report, that Massey also talked to members of a mobile mental health crisis team at least three times in the two weeks before she died.

Massey then called 911 at 12:50 a.m. on July 6 after she thought she heard a prowler outside her home in Springfield's Cabbage Patch neighborhood.

Body cam footage from Grayson's fellow officer Dawson Farley showed the officers doing a quick search around her yard and seeing a black SUV with broken windows in a nearby driveway.

Then Massey came to the front door, as seen in the footage released by Illinois State Police after the shooting, and said, "Don't hurt me." She also repeated, "Please God,” multiple times and said, “I don’t know what to do.”

Along with Farley, Grayson entered the house. He was standing on one side of a countertop that separated the living room from the kitchen when Massey took a pot of boiling water off the stove and moved toward the sink.

Grayson took a step back and Massey asked, "Where are you going?"

He laughed as he said, "Away from your hot, steaming water."

Still holding the pot, Massey then said, per the footage, "Away from the hot, steaming water? I'll rebuke you in the name of Jesus."

Then Grayson pulled his gun and said, "I swear to God I’ll f--king shoot you in your f--king face.”

He yelled at her to put the pot down, she ducked and said, "I'm sorry," and seconds later Grayson fired three times, hitting Massey once in the face.

When Farley offered to get a medical kit, Grayson said, “She’s done. You can go get it, but that’s a head shot.”

Massey died several hours later at St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, according to Courthouse News Service.

Grayson was arrested and held without bail after being indicted July 17 on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct.

The killing prompted nationwide attention, with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker applauding the state attorney's office for bringing "appropriate charges" and then-President Joe Biden stating that Massey's family "deserves justice."

After about 12 hours of deliberations, the jury found Grayson guilty of the lesser charge of second-degree murder.

“I’m fueled by rage right now,” Massey’s cousin Sontae Massey told reporters outside the courthouse in response to the verdict. “You get an officer that says he’s going to shoot you in the face, and then he shoots you in the face, and you only get second-degree? The justice system did exactly what it’s designed to do today. It’s not meant for us.”

Attorneys Crump and Romanucci called the verdict "still a measure of justice."

Meanwhile, Massey's mom Donna told reporters, "I can't wait till he gets to hell.” 

(E! and Oxygen are both part of Versant Media.)