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Autopsy: Sonya Massey killed by gunshot wound to the head

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Sonya Massey, the black woman shot to death in her home by an Illinois state sheriff’s deputy this month, died of a gunshot wound after a bullet pierced her head, according to an autopsy report released Friday.

The Sangamon County According to the medical examiner’s office, the bullet entered under her left eye, pierced a carotid artery and exited the back of her neck. In addition to the fatal gunshot wound, Massey also suffered minor blunt force injuries to her right leg, the autopsy revealed. The results were released Friday morning, three weeks after Massey’s July 6 murder.

Deputy Sean Grayson, 30, who shot her in the face, was charged last week with first-degree murder. An Illinois State Police use-of-force expert who investigated the shooting concluded the shooting was not justified, prosecutor Mary Rodgers said in court documents.

Massey, 36, was a mother of two teenagers, a son and a daughter. She loved cooking, doing hair and being with her children, according to a GoFundMe page set up by her family. She weighed just 100 pounds and was wearing a nightgown and pajama pants when she was killed, according to the autopsy report.

The killing sparked widespread condemnation, including a large protest in Manhattan on Thursday, and grief among black Americans. According to a Washington Post database, more than 1,170 people have been killed by police in the past 12 months, and black Americans are killed at twice the rate of white Americans.

This week, President Biden called on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a reform package named after the 46-year-old Black man killed by Minneapolis police in 2020. The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed the bill in March 2021, but negotiations in the Senate have stalled. A renewed push to pass the bill in 2023 after Memphis police killed 29-year-old Black man Tyre Nichols also failed due to Republican opposition.

“Sonya’s death at the hands of a police officer responding to the incident reminds us that Black Americans too often have to fear for their safety in ways that many of us do not,” Biden said in a statement.

Massey called 911 from her home in Springfield, Illinois, on July 6 to report a burglar. When Grayson and another officer arrived around 12:50 a.m., they inspected the property and spoke with her for nearly 20 minutes.

When Grayson then saw a pot on the stove, he told her to take it off the stove, according to body camera footage released Monday. Massey did so and took the pot to the sink. When Grayson said he was going to the living room to get away from the “hot, steamy water,” she said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”

Grayson then pulled out his gun and pointed it at Massey. He threatened to shoot her in the face. She ducked and said, “Okay, sorry.” Grayson approached her and allegedly fired three times.

This developing story will be updated.

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