Jury chosen in murder trial of former Illinois sheriff's deputy who killed Sonya Massey
A jury was chosen Monday in the murder trial of former Sangamon County sheriff's deputy Sean Grayson for the 2024 fatal police shooting of Sonya Massey, setting the stage for opening statements to begin on Wednesday.
Potential jurors reported to a courtroom in Peoria County, Illinois, about an hour away from where a Sangamon County murder case would typically be heard, after a judge approved a change of venue because of the national attention the case has received.
Most potential jurors who were questioned on Monday said they knew of the case well, but most said they could remain impartial.
By 5 p.m., a panel of 12 jurors and three alternates had been chosen. The main jury consists of nine men, and three women; 11 of them White, one of them Black. Opening statements have been set to begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
The case is likely to rely heavily on body camera footage that captured what occurred in the early morning hours of July 6, 2024.
Sonya Massey, 26, called police to help her because she thought she saw a prowler outside her home. Responding deputies, including Grayson, stepped inside her home to take a report.
Grayson, who is White, shot Massey, who was Black, after a confrontation over a pot of boiling water on her stove. He said in police reports and court filings that he acted in self-defense.
Massey's family disagrees, and sees parallels in her death to other high-profile deadly police shootings.
"I saw this happen in the George Floyd matter," her father James Wilburn told CBS News Chicago shortly after she died. "I saw this happen in the Breonna Taylor matter, and I had to say God, why me? Why my child?"
Grayson was arrested about a week and a half after Massey's death and was also fired as a Sangamon County deputy.
Several supporters of Massey's family gathered outside the courthouse as jury selection began in Grayson's murder trial, saying they hope their presence makes the Massey family feel as though they are not alone.
They also said this case shows that body worn cameras prove their value when they are used.
"Had it not been caught on video, it could've gone the way as all the other police involve shootings go; meaning that the police could say, 'Well, I felt threatened, and then I had to do what I needed to do.' But we've seen clearly, she was not the threat. The officer, the former officer, was the threat," said Pastor Marvin Hightower, president of the Peoria chapter of the NAACP.
Grayson faces 45 years to life in prison if convicted. Massey's family is hoping for the maximum sentence.
"In any other circumstance, this would be an open and shut case," said Sonya Massey's cousin, Sontae Massey. "Justice is justice, and we hope to secure justice regardless of who's involved."
About 50 people gathered outside the courthouse Monday morning in a designated area where the street has been blocked off and safety barricades have been set up. People at the rally said they're hoping for more than a guilty verdict.
"I would like to see Sean Grayson convicted," said Tiara Standage. "I would like to see him get life, because he took away Sonya's life very callously, you know? And we just want to see him convicted, as well as reform in the policing systems."
Massey's death led to legislation, the Sonya Massey Act, signed by the governor two months ago, requiring more thorough background checks before police officers are hired.
Before Grayson joined the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office, he had a history of accusations of bullying and abuse of power at other law enforcement jobs.
CBS News uncovered a pattern of misconduct and accountability failures within the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office during the course of the extensive reporting on the case.
Thousands of pages of law enforcement files, medical and court records, as well as photo and video evidence, challenge the claim made by the department in 2024 that Massey's death was an isolated incident by one "rogue individual."