James Wilburn, the daddy of 36-year-old Sonya Massey — who was shot lifeless by a sheriff’s deputy inside her residence in Springfield, Illinois, after she rebuked him “in the name of Jesus” earlier this month — known as the officer who killed his daughter an “emissary of Satan.”
When requested why he thought his daughter selected to rebuke the lately fired 30-year-old Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson whereas he was responding to a name for assist at his daughter’s residence on July 6, Wilburn informed “CBS Mornings” that she should have “feared for her life.”
“I think that she feared for her life. There was something, some premonition that she had, and it seems like he was just an emissary of Satan. And that’s what caused him to do what he did. It’s just unexplainable,” Wilburn stated.
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An preliminary assertion from the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Workplace on Massey’s July 6 killing stated at round 12:50 a.m., officers had been dispatched to a residence within the 2800 block of Hoover Avenue in Springfield following a 911 name reporting a prowler. Once they arrived on the scene, two deputies searched the world. At 1:21 a.m. they reported that photographs had been fired, and a feminine was struck.
“Deputies immediately administered first aid until EMS arrived. The woman was transported to St. John’s Hospital, where she was later pronounced deceased. No deputies were injured during the incident,” the assertion stated.
A virtually 19-minute clip of the encounter from a body-camera recording launched by the Illinois State Police contradicts a number of the claims within the preliminary assertion and fills in gaps in regards to the encounter. It exhibits Grayson and his companion arriving at Massey’s residence and ready for simply over 4 minutes earlier than she opens her door for them.
She appeared anxious and agitated and shortly tells the officers, “Please don’t hurt me.”
Grayson responded, “Why would we hurt you? You called us.”
When the officers requested her what she wanted assist with, Massey stated that somebody had been lurking round her yard. The officers informed her that earlier than she got here to the door, they appeared across the space of her residence and didn’t discover any quick concern. They requested why it took her so lengthy to reply the door, and she or he stated that she was making an attempt to placed on garments.
The officers had been about to go away shortly after Massey confirmed she had no different considerations when Grayson requested about her psychological well being, which prompted him to remain longer.
“You doing alright mentally?” he requested.
“Yes,” she replied.
Grayson didn’t seem satisfied by her reply and requested if she was certain, and she or he indicated she had her drugs.
As she was about to shut her door, Grayson questioned her a couple of black SUV in her driveway they beforehand requested her about. They requested if it was hers, and she or he stated no. When she was requested who owned the automotive, she informed the officers that “they brought it to my driveway,” which led to them asking for identification. They adopted her inside her home as she tried to find the doc. Massey stored insisting that she needed to indicate them her “paperwork” as she engaged in mild dialog with Grayson together with questions on earlier harm to her automotive.
At about 8 minutes and 35 seconds into the video, Grayson means that Massey verify on a boiling pot on her range.
“We don’t need a fire while we’re here,” he says.
Moments later the encounter turned lethal.
Within the video, as Massey removes the pot from the range to her sink, the officers again away from her, and she or he asks, “Where are you going?”
“Away from your hot steaming water,” Grayson replies.
“Oh I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” Massey shoots again. “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
“You better f— not, or I swear to God I’ll f— shoot you in the f— face,” Grayson informed her.
“OK. I apologize,” she says because the officers order her to drop the pot.
Massey, who seems within the video to be holding the pot subsequent to her working faucet in her sink, will be seen taking her fingers off the pot whereas nonetheless holding what seems to be like mittens in her hand. She then seems to crouch in a defensive place together with her fingers near her ears as if anticipating gunfire. Grayson advances towards her whereas he continues screaming together with his gun drawn. He finally fires a number of photographs and screams “drop the f— pot” once more.
He confirms within the video that he shot her within the head and that she was seemingly lifeless. He additionally implies that giving her any medical consideration would not make sense.
Grayson tells one other regulation enforcement determine that “she had boiling water and came at me with boiling water” and “was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus.” Nonetheless, the footage seems to refute the allegation that she was advancing towards him with boiling water when the taking pictures occurred.
“He actually walks around the counter and engages to get a better shot and that’s what the state attorney’s investigation found, that he actually engaged her,” civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump informed CBS. “He could have done so many things to not shoot her in the face. He could have backed up. He could have used a Taser.”
In an announcement Monday, Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell known as the taking pictures “unjustifiable and reckless.”
“Sonya Massey lost her life due to an unjustifiable and reckless decision by former Deputy Sean Grayson,” Campbell stated.
“Grayson had other options available that he should have used. His actions were inexcusable and do not reflect the values or training of our office,” he added. “He will now face judgment by the criminal justice system and will never again work in law enforcement. Ms. Massey needlessly lost her life, and her family deserves answers. I trust the legal process will provide them.”
A grand jury indicted Grayson on July 17. He was charged with first-degree homicide, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct.
Wilburn stated that Massey, who leaves behind two youngsters, was one in all 4 daughters. He additionally famous that he had coronary heart surgical procedure two years in the past and did not suppose he would have been capable of deal with his daughter’s loss of life earlier than then.
“I don’t think that looking at that tape with my old heart, before 2022, I had quadruple heart bypass surgery. And I suffered from congestive heart failure, but I don’t think my old heart could have taken this,” he stated.
“I was never told that it was a deputy-involved shooting. We were under the impression that she was killed by the intruder or some other person from the street or something and they just went in there and found her dead body,” Wilburn stated.
At one level, Wilburn was led to consider his daughter died by suicide.
“Thank God for the body-camera footage,” he stated. “It’s probably the most horrible, heart-wrenching thing we’ve ever seen in our lives, but if it were not for the body-cam footage, we would not have known that this occurred.”
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“Well bless their hearts.”
