Former officer convicted in Sonya M***ey killing dies in prison

Aug. 24 (UPI) — Former Sangamon County, Ill., sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson, the officer convicted for murdering Sonya M***ey in 2024, died in prison, his attorney said.

Grayson, 32, died on Sunday, his attorney Daniel L. Fultz confirmed. Grayson, a White officer, was found guilty of second-degree murder in October for fatally shooting M***ey, an unarmed Black woman.

Grayson was undergoing treatment for Stage 4 colon cancer. He filed for a medical release due to his colon cancer diagnosis but the Illinois Prisoner Review Board rejected the request last month.

On July 6, 2024, M***ey, 36, called the police with concerns about a prowler outside of her home. Grayson and another officer, Dawson Farley, responded to the call and entered the home. Grayson said M***ey began to act erratically and his partner’s bodycam captured footage of him fatally shooting M***ey.

M***ey was a mother of two.

Grayson instructed M***ey to remove a pot of water hot from her stove. While doing so, she said to Grayson, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” Grayson wrote in his incident report that he interpreted the statement to mean “she was going to kill me.”

Farley testified that he was not afraid of M***ey during the encounter and did not take the statement as a threat but he was afraid of Grayson.

Grayson responded to M***ey, saying “You better not,” and threatening to shoot her. He then pulled out his firearm and M***ey apologized before ducking behind her counter. Grayson approached her and fired three shots at her, one hitting her in the face.

Grayson’s bodycam was off for most of the encounter, only turning on after the shooting.

Prior to joining the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office in May 2023, Grayson had worked for six agencies in four years. He had been discharged from the U.S. Army for serious misconduct, had two DUIs and had numerous complaints against him from fellow law enforcement officers and others.