Sangamon County Board Approves $10 Million Settlement for Family of Sonya Massey, Killed by Deputy in Her Home

On July 6, 2024, Sonya Massey, 36, called 911 to report a suspected prowler outside her home near Springfield, Illinois. Sangamon County sheriff's deputies responded. Inside the house, Massey picked up a pot of boiling water from the stove and said, 'I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.' Deputy Sean Grayson fired three shots. One struck her below the left eye, and she died of her injuries.

Grayson was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct, and he was jailed while the criminal case went forward. In October 2025 a jury convicted him of second-degree murder, and on January 29, 2026, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The civil claim for Massey's death was handled by attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci on behalf of her family. Reporting at the time pointed to failures that came before the shooting. Massey had been through several mental health crises in the days leading up to her death, and dispatchers did not pass that information to Grayson. Grayson had also worked for six law enforcement agencies in four years and had two DUI convictions on his record, which became part of the public push for stronger hiring background checks.

On February 11, 2025, the Sangamon County Board voted unanimously to approve a $10 million settlement with Massey's family. The payment comes from settlement funds and county reserves, and it goes to Massey's two children. A court will decide how much the attorneys are paid.

The announcement came the next day, February 12. The settlement was announced on what would have been Massey's 37th birthday, and the attorneys called it only a first step for the family. Crump said they were also seeking criminal accountability for Grayson and changes to the law, and he and the Rev. Al Sharpton called on Congress to pass national police reform legislation that would make officers' disciplinary records public. The case also changed the sheriff's office itself. Sheriff Jack Campbell retired, and Paula Crouch became the county's first female sheriff. Family advocates continued to press for stronger background checks when police agencies hire officers, and for mental health response programs that send trained responders to crisis calls like the one Massey's 911 call became. The Sangamon County settlement is the family's civil recovery for her death.