Sonya Massey’s killer Sean Grayson dies in US prison

Sean Grayson, the white US police officer convicted of murdering a black woman, Sonya Massey, during an incident at her home in 2024, has died in prison at age 32.

Grayson shot dead Massey, 36, during an exchange that took place after she reported a suspected intruder at her residence in Illinois. The killing reignited the debate about police brutality in the US.

Grayson said he fired because he thought Massey was about to throw a pot of boiling water on him. He was last year found guilty of second-degree murder.

The former police officer was undergoing treatment for colon cancer. His lawyer Daniel Fultz confirmed to the BBC that Grayson had died on Sunday, but did not disclose the cause.

The BBC has asked the Illinois Department of Corrections for comment.

Lawyers for Massey’s family said: “Grayson’s death in custody from cancer does not bring Sonya back.”

“We wish his family prayers of peace, as we do for all who grieve a loved one. Sonya’s family knows that pain all too well and will grieve her loss the rest of their days,” the lawyers said, according to CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.

Protests took place across the US in the aftermath of Massey’s death, and then-President Joe Biden declared that the late woman “should be alive today”.

The incident took place in the early hours over Independence Day weekend in July 2024. Massey called police to her home in Springfield, 200 miles (320km) south of Chicago, to report that she believed someone had broken in to her property.

Police bodycam footage of the incident showed the chaotic sequence of events.

The shooting happened after an exchange of words about a pot on Massey’s stove. Massey and Grayson appeared to laugh over her pot of “steaming hot water”, before Massey twice said: “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”

“You better [expletive] not or I swear to God I’ll [expletive] shoot you in your [expletive] face,” Grayson said. He then drew his pistol as he shouted for her to drop the pot.

“OK, I’m sorry,” Massey was heard saying before she ducked. Grayson fired three shots, striking her in the face.

Grayson, who was subsequently sacked from his job, was charged with first-degree murder, but the jury was allowed to convict him of the lesser charge of second-degree murder.

He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. In recent months, he applied for release on medical grounds, but was unsuccessful. He had been diagnosed with cancer in 2023.