PEORIA, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois jury has begun deliberations in the first-degree murder trial of a sheriff's deputy who shot Sonya Massey, a Black woman who had called 911 for help and was later killed in her home because of the way she was handling a pan of hot water.

The nine-woman, three-man jury received the case Tuesday morning and deliberated for about 6 1/2 hours before Judge Ryan Cadagin dismissed them for the day. Jurors must decide whether Sean Grayson, 31, is guilty of murder for fatally shooting Massey in Springfield.

Grayson and another deputy answered Massey’s emergency call reporting a prowler outside the 36-year-old woman's home early on the morning of July 6, 2024. They entered the house and, spotting a pan of hot water on the stove, Grayson ordered it removed, according

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