PEORIA, Ill. (WICS) — We are covering the trial of Sean Grayson for the murder of Sonya Massey in July 2024. Day seven will include closing statements from the State and the Defense.
Jury deliberation is also scheduled to begin today. Follow along here for live updates straight from the courtroom.
Oct. 28
11:40 a.m. The court is in recess as the jury deliberates.
11:40 a.m. Bailiffs have been sworn in to ensure no one speaks to the jury.
11:35 a.m. Jurors number 14 and 15, the alternate jurors, have been excused at this time.
11:20 a.m. Judge Cadagin tells the jury that they can find Sean Grayson guilty of first-degree murder, not guilty of first-degree murder, or guilty of second-degree murder.
11:17 a.m. The people have finished the rebuttal. Judge Cadagin begins reading the jury instructions.
11:16 a.m. Milhiser grabs Grayson’s gun and the pot to show to the jury. Milhiser: “The defendant is guilty of first-degree murder.”
11:15 a.m. Milhiser: “These are the actions of a bully.”
11:10 a.m. Grayson’s bodycam footage now plays on the monitor.
{p}Milhiser holds the pot Sonya Massey had to show to the jury{/p}{p}Courtesy Cliff Questel{/p}{p}{/p}
11:09 a.m. Milhiser quotes when Grayson says he’s not “wasting” his med kit. Milhiser wonders what’s so important in the med kit that Grayson didn’t want to waste. Milhiser opens the med kit and begins going through it in front of the jury.
11:07 a.m. Milhiser holds up the pot Massey held to the jury: “Here’s this giant, dangerous pot.”Grayson appears in discomfort.
11:06 a.m. One juror cries as she watches the footage. She holds her notepad up to her face to hide behind it.
11:03 a.m. Members of Sonya Massey’s family leave the courtroom. Multiple members of Sonya Massey’s family have started to cry. Sean Grayson is leaning forward over the table, not watching the monitor.
10:58 a.m. Milhiser: “This isn’t second-degree murder, this is first-degree murder.” Dep. Farley’s bodycam footage is playing on the monitor. The video occasionally has captions that clarify what Massey and Grayson are saying.
Malachi Massey, Sonya’s son, has walked out of the courtroom.
10:53 a.m. Milhiser says there is nowhere in the law that says you cannot reference the defendant’s [Grayson’s] actions before and after the moment of the shooting.
10:48 a.m. Milhiser breaks down that Kevin Davis’s report only referenced Massey’s actions and her “attack.” Milhiser tells the jury that this is a murder case and encourages them to trust what they see and hear in the video.
10:43 a.m. Milshier emphasizes that the defense told the jury not to let emotions dictate the outcome. Milhiser: “Huh, that’s what happened. The defendant [Grayson] let his emotions dictate the outcome of what happened in Sonya Massey’s kitchen.”
10:41 a.m. Judge Cadagin and the jury have re-entered the courtroom. Milhiser is presenting the rebuttal.
10:20 a.m. Fultz has ended the defense’s closing statement. We are taking a short break until 10:40 a.m.
10:14 a.m. Fultz to the jury: “You told us you would judge this man [Grayson] solely on the evidence and the law presented to you. We don’t guess whether someone is guilty of a criminal offense. We don’t guess our way into a guilty verdict.”
10:08 a.m. Fultz references Corbitt and Davis’s reports, which both concluded that Grayson’s use of force was warranted.
10:05 a.m. Fultz says Massey escalated the situation. Fultz: “As hard as that is to hear and accept, the outcome of this particular case was driven by Sonya Massey’s actions.”
10:01 a.m. Fultz says that when Massey said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,’ Grayson believed that was a threat. Fultz says the jury doesn’t have to agree with Grayson, but that’s what he believed.
9:58 a.m. Fultz says Sean Grayson was completely calm when he spoke with Sonya Massey before he heard the pot on the stove. Fultz says Grayson only started to show concern when Massey went into the kitchen to grab the pot.
9:52 a.m. Fultz said that Stoughton second-guessed every single decision Grayson made that night, while never having stood in Grayson’s shoes before.
9:47 a.m. Fultz mentions that Dr. Patterson, the forensic pathologist who performed Sonya Massey’s autopsy, said that Massey’s injuries would have been survivable. Fultz says Dr. Patterson hasn’t had a live patient in many years, so he’s not qualified to speak on that.
9:44 a.m. Fultz says Deputy Farley lied in his updated report to ISP because he didn’t want to be criminally convicted.
9:41 a.m. Fultz also references Dep. Farley, who was almost through his one-year probation period for being a relatively new deputy with the sheriff’s department. Fultz emphasizes that Dep. Farley could have been fired for virtually anything while being on probation.
9:40 a.m. Fultz says that it is almost inexcusable that all the evidence wasn’t gathered at the scene the first time around, referencing the pot Sonya Massey was using and the third bullet casing.
9:36 a.m. Sean Grayson watches Fultz while he delivers the defense’s closing statement. He leans forward in his seat.
9:34 a.m. Fultz says he doesn’t care if the Jury doesn’t like Sean Grayson as a person, and that that isn’t what they are here to decide.
9:33 a.m. Fultz explains that every witness who has testified has been paid, citing what Rodgers said in the State’s closing statement.
9:32 a.m. Fultz emphasizes that the question the jury must answer is whether Sean Grayson was legally justified in shooting Sonya Massey under Illinois law.
9:28 a.m. Fultz reiterates to the jury that what happened to Sonya Massey was a tragedy, but not a crime. Fultz: “The thing you cannot do is let your emotions dictate the outcome of this case.”
FULTZ DELIVERS DEFENSE CLOSING STATEMENT (Cliff Questel){p}{/p}
9:27 a.m. Rodgers: “When you threaten to shoot someone in the face, and you do? That’s first-degree murder.” Rodgers is done with the People’s closing statements. Daniel Fultz, Grayson’s defense attorney, begins the Defense’s closing statements.
9:25 a.m. Rodgers goes over the second-degree murder charge, saying that Grayson made a promise to shoot and kill Sonya Massey.
9:23 a.m. Rodgers says that Sonya Massey was not the initial aggressor. “He [Grayson] has no right to follow her and shoot her.” Rodgers goes over the three propositions the jury will have to agree upon to convict Sean Grayson of first-degree murder.
9:18 a.m. Rodgers emphasizes the definition of the ‘totality of circumstances’ to the jury. Rodgers provides an example of ‘officer-created jeopardy.
9:15 a.m. Rodgers: “The biggest lie he [Grayson] has been telling is that there was nothing he could do. He had no choice.” Rodgers talked about how the defense got two paid witnesses who had eerily similar testimonies.
9:13 a.m. We see a photo of Massey on the monitor with her hands up. Rodgers: “For the first time ever, the defendant wants you to believe that he was going to arrest Sonya.”
9:12 a.m. Rodgers: “She [Sonya Massey] wasn’t threatening him; she was complying.”
9:11 a.m. Rodgers: “He wants you to believe that he was scared. But you don’t have to believe that because it’s not true.” Rodgers says Grayson continued to lie over and over again on the stand, including when he said he attempted to turn his body camera on after seeing Massey’s car.
9:08 a.m. The monitor shows a photo of Grayson and Massey standing outside her home. Rodgers emphasizes that Grayson was much larger than Massey and most likely had to stoop down to get into her house.
9:06 a.m. Photos of Sonya Massey’s driver’s license at the scene are shown on the monitor. Rodgers: “The defendant knew how to slow things down. But he didn’t. He knew how to treat her with kindness and respect. But he didn’t. Because the defendant didn’t care.”
9:06 a.m. “I’m sorry!” Rodgers exclaims with her hands up. A gun appears on the monitor. Rodgers says those are the last words Massey spoke. Rodgers knocks on the podium three times to demonstrate how Grayson treated Sonya Massey when he knocked on her door.
{p}Mary Beth Rodgers is the assistant state attorney{/p}{p}Credit cliff questel{/p}{p}{/p}
9:02 a.m. Judge Cadagin has re-entered the courtroom. He says good morning to Sean Grayson. The jury has entered the courtroom. Mary Beth Rodgers, assistant state’s attorney, is presenting the closing argument on behalf of the people.
Judge Cadagin{ }Courtesy Cliff Questel{ }{p}{/p}
9:00 a.m. Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney, is entering the courtroom. He greets the Massey family and takes a seat with them.
8:55 a.m. Donna Massey, Sonya Massey’s mother, was escorted out of the courtroom by family in tears during the break. She has now re-entered, still crying. Milhiser, the Sangamon County State’s Attorney, walked into the gallery to hug her.
8:46 a.m. We have finished going through the jury instructions. Judge Cadagin says that if the jury wants to review the video again, they would have to return to the courtroom and watch it in silence. Closing statements will begin at 9 a.m.
8:33 a.m. We have entered the courtroom. Judge Cadagin has also entered. Grayson wears a dark suit with the black-and-gray patterned tie he wore last week. Judge Cadagin goes over jury instructions with the attorneys.