Sonya Massey’s son, mother say race contributed to her death after she rebuked officer in Jesus' name
The teenage son and mother of 36-year-old Sonya Massey, who was shot dead by a sheriff's deputy inside her home in Springfield, Illinois, after she rebuked him "in the name of Jesus," say they believe race played a role in her death earlier this month.
Massey, who is black, was shot dead by 30-year-old former Sangamon County Sheriff's Deputy Sean Grayson while he was responding to a call to report a suspected prowler at her home on July 6.
Responding to questions in an interview with CBS Evening News, Massey’s mother, Donna Massey, and her son, Malachi Hill Massey, 17, said they believe she would probably still be alive after her encounter with Grayson if she had not been black.
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“Yeah, he would have definitely been more cautious. He wouldn't have did that,” Malachi said of Grayson’s decision to shoot his mother.
“He wouldn't have did it at all,” Donna Massey said.
An initial statement from the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office on Massey's July 6 killing said that at around 12:50 a.m. officers were dispatched to a residence in the 2800 block of Hoover Avenue in Springfield following a 911 call reporting a prowler. When they arrived at the scene, two deputies searched the area. At 1:21 a.m. they reported that shots were fired, and a female had been struck.
Body-camera footage of the encounter released by the Illinois State Police fills in gaps of information in that initial statement and contradicts some of what was previously alleged by officers, according to her family members, including that Massey had died by suicide.
The video shows how Massey appeared anxious and agitated when she first meet Grayson and his partner at her door quickly telling them, "Please don't hurt me."
Grayson appeared to assure her that he wouldn’t hurt her, saying, "Why would we hurt you? You called us."
When the officers asked her what she needed help with, Massey said someone had been lurking around her yard. The officers told her that before she came to the door, they looked around the area of her home and did not find any immediate concern. They asked why it took her so long to answer the door, and she said that she was trying to put on clothes.
The officers were about to leave shortly after Massey confirmed she had no other concerns when Grayson asked about her mental health, which prompted him to stay longer.
"You doing alright mentally?" he asked.
"Yes," she replied.
Grayson and his partner would eventually enter Massey’s home and at about 8 minutes and 35 seconds into the video. Grayson then suggests that Massey check on a boiling pot on her stove.
"We don't need a fire while we're here," he says.
Moments later the encounter became deadly.
In the video, as Massey removes the pot from the stove to her sink, the officers back away from her, and she asks, "Where are you going?"
"Away from your hot steaming water," Grayson replies.
“Oh I rebuke you in the name of Jesus," Massey shoots back. "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus."
"You better f— not, or I swear to God I'll f— shoot you in the f— face," Grayson told her.
"OK. I'm sorry," she says as the officers order her to drop the pot of boiling water.
Massey, who appears in the video to be holding the pot next to her running faucet in her sink, can be seen taking her hands off the pot while still holding what looks like mittens in her hand. She then appears to crouch in a defensive position with her hands close to her ears as if anticipating gunfire. Grayson advances toward her while he continues screaming with his gun drawn. He eventually fires several shots and screams "drop the f— pot" again.
He confirms in the video that he shot her in the head and that she was likely dead. He also implies that giving her any medical attention wouldn't make sense.
Malachi and his grandmother told CBS Evening News that Massey, who was a member of Second Timothy Baptist Church, according to her obituary, struggled with lupus, an autoimmune disease, and days earlier had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, the term “paranoid schizophrenia” is an outdated name for a subtype of schizophrenia. The disease usually shows up in women between the ages of 25 and 35. People with the affliction commonly struggle to tell what's real and what isn't and often have hallucinations and delusions, and disorganized thinking.
Her mother said days before she was killed, Massey kept saying she was going to die.
Donna Massey insists that her daughter didn’t deserve to be killed by Grayson and she hasn’t found the strength to watch the recording of her death.
She remembers her daughter as being “very smart” and selfless.
“She's always helping everybody but herself. She really was a homebody and a good mom,” Donna Massey said of her daughter.
Malachi remembered his mother as loving and energetic.
“She was just a ball of love, honestly, to me. She cooked me the best food. I love her food. She was just a ball of energy. She could talk to anybody, you know. She's just the most loving person ever,” he said, adding that she was also at the end stage of kidney disease.
Malachi said even though he never imagined his mother would have died as violently as she did, he plans to be strong like she would have wanted him to be. Donna Massey hopes Grayson gets the toughest possible punishment under the law for killing her daughter and Malachi believes his family will get justice.
“We're going to get Justice for sure. I know we are for sure. I'm positive,” Malachi said.
A grand jury indicted Grayson on July 17. He was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct.
In a statement Monday, Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell called the shooting "unjustifiable and reckless."
"Sonya Massey lost her life due to an unjustifiable and reckless decision by former Deputy Sean Grayson," Campbell said.
"Grayson had other options available that he should have used. His actions were inexcusable and do not reflect the values or training of our office," he added. "He will now face judgment by the criminal justice system and will never again work in law enforcement. Ms. Massey needlessly lost her life, and her family deserves answers. I trust the legal process will provide them."
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