Sean Grayson, the former Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy convicted of murdering Sonya Massey in her home in 2024, died on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Attorney Daniel L. Fultz, who served as Grayson’s attorney, confirmed the news on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Grayson had been battling Stage 4 colon cancer, for which he was undergoing treatment. It is unclear if that was the cause of death.<\/p>\n
Grayson, 32, was found guilty last October of\u00a0second-degree murder for the shooting<\/a>\u00a0of Sonya Massey and was serving a 20-year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections, which was to be followed by two years of mandatory supervised release.<\/p>\n Last month, the Illinois Prisoner Review Board rejected Grayson’s medical release request and ordered him to remain in prison, despite the application citing advanced colon cancer. <\/p>\n CBS News Chicago has reached out to the Department of Corrections, but has yet to hear back.<\/p>\n What happened in the Sonya Massey shooting?<\/p>\n In July 2024, 36-year-old Massey called police for help for a possible prowler outside her home. Grayson, along with another officer, responded to her home and spoke with her.\u00a0<\/p>\n While inside the home,\u00a0Grayson<\/a>\u00a0said Massey began acting erratically and saying that she rebuked him “in the name of Jesus” while walking towards a pot of water on her stove.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bodycam video from Grayson’s partner captured the moment he shot Massey, who\u00a0died of a gunshot wound<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Grayson’s body camera was not activated for most of the call, only turning on shortly after he pulled his weapon.<\/p>\n In the bodycam video, while Massey is holding the pot of water, Grayson is heard saying: “You’d better f***ing not. I swear to God, I’ll f***ing shoot you right in your f***ing face.”<\/p>\n He then raises his gun and yells at Massey to “drop the f***ing pot!”<\/p>\n Massey apologizes and ducks for cover, at which point Grayson shot her, according to prosecutors. Three shots are heard in the video.<\/p>\n