Sean Grayson, ex-deputy convicted of fatally shooting Sonya Massey, dies in prison, attorney says

Sean Grayson, the former Illinois sheriff’s deputy convicted of fatally shooting Sonya Massey in her home in 2024 after she called 911 to report a prowler, has died, his attorney said Sunday.

Daniel Fultz, the attorney who represented Grayson during his murder trial, said he died around noon. He was six months into his 20-year sentence for second-degree murder.

Grayson, 32, was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer in 2023, and it had progressed to Stage 4 and spread to his liver, lungs and rectum, another defense attorney, Mark Wykoff, said at his sentencing in January. In July, he was denied medical release by the Illinois Prisoner Review Board.

It was not immediately clear whether cancer is what caused Grayson’s death.

Grayson shot Massey, 36, after he responded to her 911 call shortly before 1 a.m. July 6, 2024. The shooting, which was captured on body camera video, set off protests and calls for justice.

During the 911 response, Massey picked up a pot of boiling water from her stove, prompting Grayson to back away, according to court testimony.

Grayson testified that he believed Massey was going to throw the boiling water on him after she said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” When Grayson looked confused, Massey repeated the sentence.

He testified that he took the remark as a threat.

Grayson pointed his gun at Massey and threatened to shoot her, according to body camera video. She apologized and dropped to the floor, but he fired three times, striking her.

Grayson declined to offer medical care, Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser said in court. Massey was pronounced dead at St. John’s Hospital in Springfield.

First Assistant State’s Attorney Mary Beth Rodgers said in court: “‘I’m sorry.’ That is the last thing Sonya Massey said before the defendant murdered her, just like he said he would.”

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Sonya Massey Act , a law requiring stricter background checks for law enforcement hires, and it went into effect at the beginning of the year.

Sangamon County officials agreed in early 2025 to pay a $10 million settlement to Massey’s family.