New video shows Sonya Massey with police hours before shooting death at home outside Springfield, IL

ByTrevor Ault GMA logo
Thursday, September 5, 2024
New video shows Sonya Massey with police hours before police shooting
New bodycam video shows Sonya Massey with police hours before her shooting death outside Springfield, Illinois in Sangamon County.

SANGAMON COUNTY, Ill. -- There is new bodycam video in the Sonya Massey case, which shows the Illinois mother interacting with police just hours before she was shot in her home.

Newly released footage shows Massey 16 hours before she was fatally shot on July 6, at her home outside Springfield, Illinois.

ABC affiliate WICS obtained the video.

In it, Massey is seen explaining to police she was worried about her children.

"I don't know where they at," Massey says.

"They're at their dad's house; they're worried about you, too. Everybody just wants you to be OK. That's all it is," the officer responds.

Over the course of the roughly 45-minute video, Massey is sitting in her car upset over her family, as well as the lights and water being turned off at her home.

"When I got home, I ain't got no hot water. I ain't got no lights; I had to throw away all of the food," she says.

At one point, she confirmed she'd been taking her medicine when asked about it by officers.

On July 5, Massey's mother, Donna, called 911, saying Massey was having a mental health episode. Her mother pleaded with the operator not to hurt her daughter.

"She's been mentally, having a mental breakdown. She thinks everybody's after her," she said.

Hours later, at 12:49 a.m. July 6, Sonya Massey called 911 herself to report a disturbance.

"It sounds like somebody was banging on the side of my house. I don't know. Could y'all come and see?" Massey said.

Then-Sangamon County Sheriff's Office deputy Sean Grayson, 30, and his partner responded to the call.

The situation quickly escalated when Massey asked to take a boiling pot of water off the stove.

The bodycam footage shows Grayson shooting Massey, something he has not denied.

Grayson is now charged with murder; he's been denied pretrial release and has pleaded not guilty.

Massey's family said in a statement Thursday, "Sonya Massey's family is devastated by this new footage, which shows clearly that she was in the midst of a mental health crisis. Deputy Sean Grayson's decision to use deadly force against a woman in distress remains inexcusable, unacceptable, and criminal. Grayson must continue to be held responsible for his actions that killed Sonya, who was in desperate need of help."