More details about the tragic murder of Sonya Massey have emerged with the release of police’s body camera footage.
Massey, a 36-year-old Black mother from Springfield, Illinois, was tragically shot and killed on July 6 by former Sangamon County Sheriff's Deputy Sean Grayson, a 30-year-old white man. Massey called police just before 1 a.m. to report a potential home intruder.
As the Associated Press reports, body cam footage of the incident was released on Monday, July 22, which showed officers walking around the house before discovering a black SUV with broken windows in the driveway.
"Don’t hurt me," Massey said immediately after deputies knocked on her door, adding that she didn’t know who owned the car in her driveway. She told officers she was putting on some clothes before answering the door.
Once inside, Massey sat on the couch and went through her purse to provide officers with identification to file a report. Grayson then pointed to a pot of water on a lit stove and said, "We don’t need a fire while we’re here."
Massey got up and moved the pot near the sink.
"Why did you move back? Where are you going?" Massey is heard saying while standing by the sink on a counter dividing the kitchen and living room.
"Away from your hot, steaming water," Grayson seemingly jokes.
"I rebuke you in the name of Jesus," Massey responded casually.
"You better fucking not. I swear to God, I’ll fucking shoot you right in your fucking face," Grayson responded, escalating the situation.
The officers drew their guns as Massey immediately apologized. Grayson demanded she drop the pot, which she did before ducking and raising her hands. He then shot her in the face.
After Massey was shot in the face, Grayson is heard on the body cam footage discouraging his partner from grabbing his medical kit to help her, despite the fact that she was still breathing.
"You can go get it, but that’s a headshot," he said. "There’s nothing you can do man...What else do we do? I’m not taking hot fucking boiling water to the fucking face."
"We can at least try to stop the bleeding," the other deputy said, before Grayson eventually relented and grabbed his kit too.
AP reports that Grayson told responding police that Massey "came at" him with the boiling water, saying, "She said was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus and came at me with boiling water."
Grayson was fired last week and is being held at Sangamon County Jail without bond. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, and official misconduct. He faces several prison sentences of 45 years to life for murder, six to 30 years for battery, and two to five years for misconduct if convicted.
According to the Illinois Times, Grayson’s past includes two misdemeanor DUI convictions in 2015 and 2016. He also held brief stints at five different Illinois police departments since 2021. Despite this, Grayson was hired by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office in May 2023.
While speaking to Gayle King on CBS Mornings, Massey’s father, James Wilburn, said his family was "misled" by police and was not initially informed that a deputy was responsible for his daughter's death.
"We were under the impression that she was killed by the intruder or some other person from the street or something. And they just went in there and found her dead body," Wilburn said, adding that it was his brother who discovered that officers were involved.
"And then there was a story that this was a self-inflicted gunshot," he continued. "So I think the cover up started just right after it happened. Thank God for the body camera footage. It’s probably the most horrible and heart wrenching thing that we've ever seen in our lives. But if it were not for the body cam footage, we would not have known that this occurred."
President Joe Biden, 81, issued a statement on Monday in response to the "unthinkable and senseless loss," saying that Massey "should be alive today."
"Sonya called the police because she was concerned about a potential intruder. When we call for help, all of us as Americans – regardless of who we are or where we live – should be able to do so without fearing for our lives," Biden wrote.
"Sonya’s death at the hands of a responding officer reminds us that all too often Black Americans face fears for their safety in ways many of the rest of us do not. Sonya’s family deserves justice," he continued. "I am heartbroken for her children and her entire family as they face this unthinkable and senseless loss. Jill and I mourn with the rest of the country and our prayers are with Sonya’s family, loved ones, and community during this devastating time."