SPRINGFIELD — Images of a slight Sonya Massey being fatally shot in the face by an imposing law enforcement officer inside her home in July 2024 shocked much of America.

The 36-year-old Black mother of two, who at the time was dealing with mental health challenges, had called police to her residence near Springfield because she said she was worried about a prowler. Mere minutes later, Sangamon County Deputy Sheriff Sean Grayson, who is white, killed her as he yelled for her to drop a pot of what he feared was boiling water.

On Monday, Grayson’s first-degree murder trial begins 15 months after that fatal night. But for Massey’s father, the trial is only a reminder of how much he’s lost.

“I miss our long conversations. We would have conversations that were sometimes at least a couple of

See Full Page