An Illinois sheriff’s deputy has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a woman inside her home, a death that led to protests about justice for the Black victim.
Sonya Massey was killed after Sangamon County deputies responded to her 911 call early on July 6, State’s Attorney John Milhiser said.
A statement from Milhiser doesn’t describe the circumstances that preceded the shooting at Massey’s home in Springfield, 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of Chicago. But he said a review of body-camera video doesn’t support the use of deadly force.
Deputy Sean Grayson was indicted on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct, Milhiser said Wednesday.
Ben Crump, an attorney for Massey’s family, said the 36-year-old woman had called police about a suspected intruder in her home. He said she was unarmed and shot in the face.
An Illinois sheriff’s deputy charged with murder in the death of a Black woman shot her in the face during a tense moment over a pot of water in her home, authorities said Thursday.
Prosecutors said Grayson “aggressively yelled” at Massey to put a pot down. They said she put her hands in the air and ducked for cover before she was shot in the face.
And then right after that is the part about the medical kit. So you kill someone who asked for help because they were holding a pot of water.
