The former Illinois sheriff’s deputy who was sentenced to two decades in prison for killing Sonya Massey inside her home has died, his attorney said.
Defense attorney Daniel Fultz confirmed to NBC Chicago Grayson died on Sunday.
Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, attorneys for the family of Sonya Massey, released the following statement:
“Sonya Massey’s death was unjustifiable and she should be alive today,” the attorneys said. “Sean Grayson’s death in custody from cancer does not bring Sonya back. We wish his family prayers of peace, as we do for all who grieve a loved one. Sonya’s family knows that pain all too well and will grieve her loss the rest of their days.”
The former deputy had been diagnosed with colon cancer prior to the 2024 shooting, and his attorney noted in January that the cancer had advanced to his liver and lungs.
The three-member Illinois Prisoner Review Board voted in July to deny Grayson’s application for early medical release, Liz Mitchell, a board spokesperson, said in a previous email.
Grayson, who is white, was convicted in October of second-degree murder for Massey’s killing, a case that sparked protests over systemic racism and a U.S. Department of Justice review.
Body camera footage showed Grayson and another deputy enter Massey’s home in Springfield, Illinois. Minutes later, Grayson shot the 36-year-old single mother in the face as she moved a pot of hot water from the stove and told him, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
Grayson was given the maximum possible sentence.
He filed for early release from prison in May, six months into his sentence, according to a copy of his application published by Capitol News Illinois. Grayson apologized for Massey’s death at his January sentencing but in the release application wrote she had “attacked me with a pot of boiling water.”
In a letter to the board opposing Grayson’s release, Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser said the former deputy’s medical condition was already considered at sentencing.
“To release Grayson under these circumstances would be a miscarriage of justice,” he wrote, “and an insult to Sonya Massey’s memory and family.”
