Former sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson faces murder trial in fatal shooting of Sonya Massey

(PEORIA, Ill.) — Jury selection is set to begin on Monday in the trial of Sean Grayson, the former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy who was charged with first-degree murder in connection to the July 6, 2024, fatal shooting of Sonya Massey.

Grayson was charged with a total of three counts in connection to Massey’s death – first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct.

Grayson’s attorney, Daniel Fultz, declined to comment to ABC News but confirmed that his client has “pleaded not guilty to all charges.”

The trial will take place in Peoria, Illinois, after it was moved from Sangamon County to Peoria County due to extensive media publicity.

Body camera footage of the incident released by Illinois State Police on July 22, 2024, shows Massey telling Grayson and another responding deputy, “Please, don’t hurt me,” once she answered their knocks on her door.

“I don’t want to hurt you, you called us,” Grayson responded.

Later in the video, Grayson, who was inside Massey’s home, points to a pot of boiling water on her stove and says, “We don’t need a fire while we’re in here.”

Massey then pours the water into the sink and tells the deputy, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” according to the video.

Grayson threatens to shoot her and Massey apologizes and ducks down behind a counter, covering her face with what appears to be a red oven mitt, the video shows. As she briefly rises, Grayson shoots her three times in the face, the footage shows.

Massey died by homicide due to a gunshot wound to her head, according to an autopsy report released on July 26, 2024, Sangamon County coroner Jim Allmon confirmed to ABC News.

Grayson said he feared for his life during his encounter with Massey, according to documents released by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office in August of 2024.

“While on scene, I was in fear Dep. (redacted) and I were going to receive great bodily harm or death. Due to being in fear of our safety and life, I fired my duty weapon,” Grayson wrote in his field case report.

Attorney Ben Crump, who represents Massey’s family, said the autopsy confirmed that this was an “unnecessary excessive use of force, completely unnecessary, certainly not justified.”

Crump said that Massey had struggled with her mental health.

Prosecutors alleged that Grayson discouraged his partner from retrieving the medical kit to render aid to Massey after the shooting because he allegedly thought the injuries were too severe to revive her.

The judge in the case ruled during a pre-trial hearing on Sept. 15, 2025, against the defense’s request to exclude body camera footage after Massey was shot, according to WICS, ABC affiliate in Springfield, Illinois.

The body camera footage released by Illinois State Police shows the incident from the point of view of Grayson’s partner because Grayson did not turn on his own body camera until after the shooting, according to court documents reviewed by ABC News.

A review of the case by Illinois State Police found Grayson was not justified in his use of deadly force. Grayson was fired in July 2024 by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office after he was indicted in this case.

Grayson has been held in the Macon County jail ahead of his trial.

Grayson’s attorneys revealed that he was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer and argued for his pretrial release, claiming that he would not receive proper treatment in prison. An appellate court ruled on Nov. 27, 2024, that Grayson could be released on pretrial conditions but the ruling was paused last December after prosecutors appealed the decision to the Illinois Supreme Court.

Prosecutors argued, in part, that Grayson acted “impulsively” and cannot be trusted to comply with conditions for pretrial release.

Prior to Grayson’s time in public law enforcement, he was discharged from the U.S. Army for unspecified “misconduct (serious offense),” according to documents obtained by ABC News.

ABC News also learned that Grayson was charged with two DUI offenses in Macoupin County, Illinois, in August 2015 and July 2016, according to court documents.

He pleaded guilty to both charges. He paid over $1,320 in fines and had his vehicle impounded as a result of the 2015 incident. In 2016, Grayson paid over $2,400 in fines, according to court records.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed new legislation on Aug. 12 inspired by Massey’s death, according to ABC station in Chicago, WLS. The law creates stricter hiring practices for law enforcement agencies by requiring departments to thoroughly investigate a candidate’s history before hiring them.

“It means everything to me. Like to see my mom making some change … that means the world to me,” said Massey’s son Malachi Hill Massey.

ABC News’ Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.