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Sean Grayson, the Illinois police officer convicted of the murder of Sonya Massey, has died six months into his prison sentence. He was 32.
The former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office deputy died on Sunday, August 23, at around noon, his attorney, Daniel Fultz, confirmed to NBC News and NPR Illinois.
In October 2025, Grayson was convicted of second-degree murder over the fatal shooting of Massey, 36, inside her home in July 2024. Massey, a Black woman, had called 911 to report a suspected prowler. She was shot by Grayson three times. He alleged he feared that she would scald him with a pot of boiling water she had taken off the stove.
Grayson was sentenced to 20 years in prison in January.
At his sentencing hearing in January, another attorney for Grayson, Mark Wykoff, said that the former officer had been diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2023 and that the disease had since progressed to stage 4 after spreading to his liver, lungs and rectum, per NBC News.
Attorneys for the Massey family said in a statement to NPR Illinois on Sunday, “Sonya Massey’s death was unjustifiable and she should be alive today. Sean Grayson’s death in custody from cancer does not bring Sonya back.”
“We wish his family prayers of peace, as we do for all who grieve a loved one. Sonya’s family knows that pain all too well and will grieve her loss the rest of their days,” added attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci.
In July, the Illinois Prisoner Review Board denied Grayson early release from prison on medical grounds.
At the time, attorneys for the Massey family said that the parole board had “made the right decision.”
“The board recognized what this family has said from the start,” Crump and Romanucci said in a statement. “No one is above accountability, and a badge does not provide an early way out.”
Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser opposed Grayson’s release in a letter to the three-person parole board.
“To release Grayson under these circumstances would be a miscarriage of justice and an insult to Sonya Massey’s memory and family,” wrote Milhiser.
In August 2025, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law the Sonya Massey Bill, which requires police departments to conduct stricter background checks for new hires.
“When Sonya Massey feared for her safety, she did what anyone would do — she called law enforcement for help. Communities should be able to trust that when they call the police to their home, the responding officer will be well-trained and without a history of bias or misconduct,” Pritzker said in a statement at the time. “Today, I sign Sonya Massey’s Bill to help prevent these tragedies, to better equip law enforcement to keep our communities safe, and to continue working to build a justice system that protects all of our citizens.”
