Video of fatal Sonya Massey shooting released; officer charged with murder

A former sheriff's deputy in Illinois is facing murder charges, after body cam footage shows him shooting and killing a 36-year-old mother of two over a pot of boiling water. The incident happened in the early morning hours of July 6 in Springfield, Illinois, when Sonya Massey called 911 to report someone outside her home.

In the video footage , deputies arrive and knock on Massey’s door. She can be seen standing on her porch talking with them and says she needs help because she heard someone outside. Deputy Sean Grayson tells her that he and his partner have checked the areas around her home — including her neighbor’s yard — and that they didn’t see or find anything suspicious.

Massey allows the two deputies inside her home. As she’s sitting on the couch, the deputies ask her name and for identification.

“Do you have an ID?” Grayson asked her. “That would make things so much easier. Just a driver’s license will do.”

While searching for her ID, the deputies heard the sound of boiling water on a stovetop in the kitchen. Grayson asked Massey to turn off the stove because they don’t "need a fire."

Massey takes the pot of boiling water off the stove, and Grayson starts backing away. Massey asks him where he’s going.

“Away from your hot steaming water,” Grayson said.

“Away from my hot steaming water?” Massey asks. “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”

“Huh?” Grayson said.

“I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” Massey responded.

Deputy Grayson sternly responds to Massey saying, “You’d better f---ing not. I swear to God, I’ll f---ing shoot you right in your f---ing face!”

Massey apologized and ducks for cover as Grayson draws his gun and tells her to drop the pot of water.

In the video, Massey holds the pot over her head.

Grayson asks her again to drop the pot then he fires three rounds, striking Massey in the face.

The deputies radio for help.

When the other deputy said he is going to get his medical kit, Grayson tells him he can but that there is little to do since she was shot in the head.

About a minute after the shooting, Grayson asked the other deputy, “What else were we going to do?” He said he wasn’t about to take a pot of boiling water to the face.

The body cam footage was presented to a grand jury which returned an indictment against Grayson.

Massey’s father, James Wilburn, spoke at a news conference after the body cam footage was released.

“But you know what I want?” he asked. “I want justice for my baby. You killed the wrong Black woman this time.”

President Joe Biden released a statement Monday, July 22.

“Sonya Massey, a beloved mother, friend, daughter and young Black woman, should be alive today," the statement said in part . "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. 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.”

Grayson is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct.

He was fired and taken into custody and has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

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