Sonya Massey, woman killed by police in her home, died by murder with gunshot wound to the head, autopsy shows

Sonya Massey, the Illinois woman who was shot and killed by a deputy sheriff responding to her 911 call, died by homicide from a gunshot wound to the head, according to an autopsy report released Friday by the Sangamon County coroner.

Although the autopsy report did not specify the cause of death, Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon confirmed it was homicide.

“Cause of death: gunshot wound to the head. Manner of death: homicide,” Allmon said in a statement to ABC News.

The bullet that killed Massey, 36, entered the lower eyelid of her left eye and exited the back left surface of her upper neck, according to the autopsy report.

Sean Grayson, the former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy who shot Massey, was fired and charged with three counts of first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a firearm and abuse of office in connection with Massey’s death. He pleaded not guilty.

Massey and a second, unnamed deputy responded to Massey’s 911 call reporting a possible intruder at her Springfield home on July 6.

Body camera footage released Monday shows Grayson, 30, yelling at Massey to put down a pot of boiling water.

Footage reviewed by ABC News shows Massey telling the two officers who responded to the call, “Please don’t hurt me,” after responding to the knock on her door.

Grayson replied, “I don’t want to hurt you, you called us.”

Later in the video, while looking for her ID in Massey’s house, Grayson points to a pot of boiling water on her stove and says, “We don’t need a fire while we’re in here.”

Massey then pours the water into the sink and tells the deputy, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”

Grayson threatens to shoot her, according to the video, at which point Massey apologizes and takes cover behind a counter. She covers her face with what appears to be a red oven mitt. She briefly stands up, and Grayson shoots her three times in the face, the footage shows.

The footage comes from the perspective of Grayson’s partner, because Grayson did not turn on his own body camera until after the shooting, court documents show.

An Illinois State Police review found that Grayson’s use of deadly force was not justified.

According to documents obtained by ABC News, Grayson was discharged from the U.S. Army for “misconduct (serious offense).”

ABC News also learned that Grayson was charged with drunken driving twice in Macoupin County, Illinois, in August 2015 and July 2016, according to court records.

Grayson’s attorney, Dan Fultz, declined to comment.

News of his firing and DUI law violations comes just days after Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board records obtained by ABC News revealed that Grayson has worked for six law enforcement agencies over the past four years.