Jury selection has begun in the murder trial of an Illinois sheriff’s deputy charged with killing Sonya Massey, a Black woman shot in her home last year after calling police for help.

Sean Grayson, 31, responding to a call about a suspected prowler, fired on the 36-year-old Massey in her Springfield home early on July 6, 2024, after confronting her about how she was handling a pan of hot water Grayson had ordered removed from her stove.

Security was uncharacteristically tight in Peoria, where the trial has been moved. A police tactical team was deployed around the downtown courthouse and snipers were seen on rooftops surrounding the perimeter.

Massey's killing raised new questions about U.S. law enforcement shootings of Black people in their homes and it prompted a change in Illinois

See Full Page