Photo: Grace Lorraine/Facebook, Sean Grayson/Sangamon County Sheriff Dept.
Sean Grayson, the former Illinois sheriff’s deputy convicted of killing Sonya Massey, has died in prison at 32.
Grayson died Sunday (August 23) while serving a 20-year sentence for second-degree murder, NPR reported. His former attorney, Daniel L. Fultz, confirmed his death.
Grayson had Stage 4 colon cancer and was undergoing treatment, according to CBS News Chicago. The Illinois Prisoner Review Board recently rejected his request for medical release. His cause of death has not been publicly confirmed.
The former Sangamon County deputy was convicted in October 2025 in the fatal shooting of Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman who called 911 in July 2024 to report a possible prowler outside her home.
Grayson and another deputy responded to Massey’s call. According to body-camera footage cited by The Associated Press, Grayson told Massey to move a pot of hot water she had taken from the stove.
Massey said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” before Grayson threatened to shoot her. Massey apologized and ducked behind a counter, but Grayson fired three times, killing her. Grayson later said he believed she was going to throw the water at him. He was fired following the shooting.
Massey’s killing sparked protests across the country—from New York to Chicago—and even a July 2024 demonstration in Jackson, Mississippi, where protesters marched for justice following the release of body-camera footage, according to WAPT.
The case also brought increased scrutiny to police hiring and use of force, leading Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker to sign the Sonya Massey Act into law last year, which strengthened vetting requirements for law enforcement applicants. Additionally, the U.S. Justice Department reached an agreement requiring policing reforms in Sangamon County, The AP reported.
Attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, who represent Massey’s family, said Grayson’s death does not change the loss the family continues to endure.
In a statement obtained by CBS News Chicago, the attorneys referred to Grayson’s “death in custody from cancer” and said it “does not bring Sonya back.”
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