Halfway2sane

Former Illinois sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson died Sunday, August 23^rd, 2026 while serving a 20-year prison sentence for fatally shooting Sonya Massey in her home.

Before the shooting, Sean Grayson was battling colon cancer. At sentencing, his attorneys said the cancer had spread to his liver and lungs.

In May, Grayson sought medical release from prison under an Illinois law for inmates with terminal or serious illnesses. The Illinois Prisoner Review Board denied the request last month.

A jury convicted Grayson, 32, in October of second-degree murder in the 2024 shooting death of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old woman who had called 911 to report a possible prowler outside her Springfield-area home.

Sonya Lynaye Wilburn-Massey was born on February 12, 1988, and was 36 years old at the time of her death. She had a son and a daughter. Sometime prior to her death, she voluntarily checked into a 30-day inpatient treatment program in St. Louis, returning two days later. On July 4, 2024, a caller from Massey’s home address called 911. “Somebody’s trying to hurt me,” the caller said. When the dispatcher asked who was trying to hurt her, the caller said, “A lot of them.” The caller then said, “Never mind. This must not be the right number,” and disconnected. It is unknown if Massey was the person who made this call.

Massey’s mother, Donna Massey, had called 911 on July 5, the day before the shooting, and told the operator her daughter was experiencing mental health issues. She reported her daughter being “sporadic” and having a “mental breakdown,” but stated, “she’s not a danger to herself, she’s not a danger to me.” Massey’s mother also added, “When she gets upset, then she thinks everybody’s after her, like paranoid schizophrenic.” Massey’s mother then said, “[Don’t send] any combative policemen who are prejudiced, please,” and “I’m scared of the police.” Once officers arrived, Sonya Massey was in the front yard, saying, “They won’t give it to me.” Inside her home, Donna Massey told the responding deputy of her daughter’s recent release from a mental facility. Around 10 a.m., Sonya Massey told responding officers she did not want to speak with medical professionals or seek treatment. She spoke with EMTs and behavioral health workers who later cleared her.

A few hours later, another 911 call was placed, and a female voice was heard yelling that someone had broken her window, before hanging up the phone. When the 911 dispatcher called back, Massey told the dispatcher that her neighbor hit her with a brick. Massey later received treatment at St. John’s Hospital. She suffered cuts from broken glass. A sheriff’s deputy arrived at the hospital. Massey told the deputy her neighbor broke her SUV’s windows with a brick and that she broke another window in an attempt to get away in her SUV. The deputy stated Massey “admitted breaking her own window,” and “appeared to be having some 10-96 issues”, a policing code for mental health issues.

Early on the morning of July 6, 2024, Sonya Massey called 911 as she believed that someone had broken into her home. Two deputies, Sean Grayson and Dawson Farley, responded. Both deputies subsequently searched Massey’s backyard and the immediate vicinity of her property, finding no evidence of any suspicious activity or persons. The deputies approached Massey’s front door and Grayson knocked multiple times. After approximately three minutes from when Grayson first knocked, Massey opened the door and engaged in conversation with the deputies. The deputies informed Massey that they had not found anyone in their search while Massey used her cell phone.

As the deputies prepared to end the exchange, Grayson suddenly asked Massey if a black SUV in her driveway belonged to her. Massey replied that the vehicle was not hers. Farley then walked around the side of Massey’s house to report the license plate number of the vehicle in her driveway. Massey and Grayson continued to engage in conversation. After Farley walked back to Massey’s front door, the three entered Massey’s residence.

Inside the home, Massey had a phone call with a 911 dispatcher. Massey repeatedly told the dispatcher to “hold on” before the dispatcher disconnected. As Farley looked around the residence, Massey could be seen looking through a small stack of papers and her purse. At one point, Massey asked Grayson to hand her a Bible. Grayson asked Massey for her name, discussed the vehicle parked in her driveway, then asked for her ID. Massey said that she had some “paperwork” and wanted to show it to the deputies. However, Grayson and Farley insisted that she show her ID first. While Massey searched for her ID, Grayson asked someone to remove a pot of water sitting on the stove. Massey then picked it up.

After Massey picked up the pot of water and walked from her stove to her sink, Farley and Grayson moved backward. Massey asked the deputies, “Where are you going?”; Grayson replied, “Away from your hot steaming water,” chuckling. “Away from my hot steaming water? [Oh], I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” Massey said. “Huh?” Grayson asked, before Massey repeated, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” Grayson replied, “You better fucking not. I swear to God I’ll fucking shoot you right in your fucking face,” then drew his gun. Farley also drew his gun.

Massey immediately apologized by saying “OK, I’m sorry,” then ducked behind the kitchen counter. However, both deputies advanced from the living room toward the kitchen with their weapons trained on Massey. After several seconds of shouting orders for Massey to drop the pot of water, Grayson fired three shots at her, fatally wounding her with one shot in the face. Several news publications have reported that Massey was unarmed at the time of the shooting. Grayson activated his body camera after shooting Massey. Farley had his body camera on when he first arrived.

Farley began to leave to grab his medical kit. However, Grayson discouraged him from doing so, stating, “She’s done. You can go get it, but that’s a headshot.” Grayson later went to get his medical kit while Farley held dish towels to her head wound. Once Grayson returned with the kit, he asked if there was anything he could do, to which he was told no. “I’m not even gonna [sic] waste my med stuff then,” Grayson replied before throwing the medical kit on the floor. Massey was later pronounced dead at 1:47 a.m. at St. John’s Hospital in Springfield.

Body camera footage of the shooting was released to the public on July 22, 2024.

In the aftermath of the shooting, the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation of the incident, which was turned over to the Illinois State Police. The investigation was completed within 10 days. A review by Illinois State Police found Grayson not justified in his use of deadly force. He was later fired from the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office on July 17, the same day charges were filed against him. Farley was placed on administrative leave.

Massey’s family retained Ben Crump, a prominent civil rights attorney who has represented several other victims of high-profile instances of police brutality, including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Massey’s father criticized the sheriff’s office for hiring Grayson despite the “serious blemishes on his record.” Additionally, her family said that police had initially blamed Massey’s death on both suicide and a neighbor.

County Sheriff Jack Campbell announced he would retire on August 31, 2024, due to the shooting. He was replaced in his role by former patrol officer and detective Paula Crouch the following month. In February 2025, Massey’s family reached a settlement with Sangamon County for a payment of $10 million. Massey’s family also created a GoFundMe, which raised $529,000 of the $600,000 goal. In May 2025, the Illinois House passed House Bill 1953, or “Sonya Massey’s Bill”, requiring more thorough background checks before police officers are hired.

The autopsy report on Massey was released on July 26, 2024. The report confirmed Massey’s death to be a homicide. The report concluded that Massey was shot beneath her left eye. The bullet exited the back of her neck. It caused a skull fracture, pierced her carotid artery, and caused bleeding in her brain. The report also revealed minor blunt force injuries to her right leg. The toxicology results found that Massey had gabapentin and delta-9-THC in her system.

On July 23, 2024, the Unites States Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed that it was “assessing the circumstances” of Massey’s death. Ben Crump announced the Department of Justice was investigating that same day. However, the civil rights investigation officially began in November 2024. The Department of Justice would investigate the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office, Sangamon County Central Dispatch, and the county itself. The Department of Justice reached an agreement with Sangamon County on January 16, 2025. Sangamon County did not admit any liability by entering into the agreement with the Department of Justice.

The Department of Justice found no instances of discrimination but required the sheriff’s office and central dispatch to make biannual reports of any complaints they receive. The sheriff’s office and central dispatch would also introduce additional training, such as de-escalation techniques with behavioral health disabilities. The agreement would also require the creation of a mobile crisis team that includes trained behavioral health staff.

On July 17, 2024, a grand jury indicted Grayson on three counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated battery with a firearm, and one count of official misconduct. He was held in jail without bail. Grayson pled not guilty on July 18. His attorneys had argued for his pretrial release, appealing to the Supreme Court of Illinois, which denied the petition for release on bond. Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser’s review did “not support a finding that… Grayson was justified in his use of deadly force.” Prosecutors compared him to “an officer intentionally and unnecessarily putting himself in front of a moving vehicle and then justifying use of force because of fear of being struck.” Grayson was transferred to Macon County Jail from Menard County Jail on October 29, 2024. He was also transferred to Sangamon County Jail from Macon County Jail on July 23, 2025.

The criminal trial for Grayson commenced on October 20, 2025, in Peoria County, with opening statements beginning two days later. On October 20, 12 jurors were selected. The jury was made up of nine white women, two white men, and one black man. The lesser charges, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct, were dropped on October 21.

Farley testified against Grayson on October 22, stating, “She never did anything that made me think she was a threat,” and that it was Grayson’s actions that raised his “sense of awareness.” Grayson took the stand on October 27 and testified in his own defense. He claimed that he took “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus” as a threat and believed Massey was going to throw the pot of water at him. Grayson was equipped with a Taser but claimed that he did not use it because he thought Massey’s clothing would make it ineffective.

On January 29, 2026, Grayson’s sentencing hearing began. John Milhiser, Sangamon County’s state’s attorney, asked for Grayson to be given the maximum sentence, stating, “If the max were more, we would ask for more.” Defense attorney Mark Wykoff warned that imprisonment would endanger Grayson’s health, as his colon cancer had worsened and spread, stating, “Grayson was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer in 2023,” and “That has now spread to his liver, and now he has Stage 4 cancer, separate and apart from the Stage 4 colon cancer, in the form of rectal cancer, and cancer to his liver and cancer to his lungs.” However, the judge did not find any evidence that Grayson’s cancer treatment would be different in prison compared to the outside.

Massey’s mother, Donna Massey, her father, James Wilburn, and her two children all made statements at the sentencing. Massey’s daughter, Summer, told the court, “Since her death, I have not been the same person.” Massey’s son, Malachi, told the judge, “My soul is ripped. It’s like a part of me is really dead.” Wilburn told the court that he is bent, but he is not broken and that his family continues to suffer from her loss, stating, “I’m bent today, but not broken. My family will forever suffer for losing Sonya.” Donna told the court, “I cried every day. I lost my short-term memory. Today, I’m afraid to call the police for fear that I may end up like Sonya,” and “She was one of the smartest, sweetest people I ever knew.”

Grayson was sentenced to the maximum 20 years in prison. In addition, Grayson was given two years of supervised release. With the time he had already served in jail, and with the possibility of a sentence reduction for good behavior, he could have been released after serving 8+¹⁄₂ years, around 50 percent of his sentence. During the sentencing, he expressed remorse, stating, “I made a lot of mistakes that night. There were points when I should’ve acted, and I didn’t. I froze,” and “I made terrible decisions that night. I’m sorry.”

On August 23, 2026, Grayson died from complications due to colon cancer after being denied medical release from prison in July.