A Pennsylvania judge was found guilty of shooting her ex-boyfriend in the head while he slept. She may spend decades in prison after being convicted of attempted homicide and aggravated assault charges on Wednesday.
After deliberating for about two hours, a jury convicted Sonya M. McKnight, a magisterial judge in Dauphin County, on both charges she faced in a count of attempted murder and another of aggravated assault.
58-year-old McKnight held the elected role since 2016 but was taken away in handcuffs after the trial judge rejected a defense request that she be released.
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The convicted Pennsylvania judge was taken outside the county for incarceration because she sent many defendants to Dauphin County Prison during her nine years on the bench, according to PennLive.
The shooting took place in February 2024 after McKnight’s boyfriend at the time, Michael McCoy, 54, tried to end their relationship and asked her to move out of his house.
The then-judge allegedly agreed to leave yet later that night, McCoy woke up with a “massive head pain” and was blind.
He testified during the trial that he got blind l after the shooting and that McKnight was the only other person with him at home when it happened.
Cops revealed that McKnight called 911 and that during the call she “could not explain what happened and stated that she was sleeping and heard him screaming.”
McCoy was rushed to the hospital by Emergency responders, where a gunshot wound was found to the right temple that exited his left temple.
Cops say the severity of the damage left McCoy blind in his right eye. A gun registered to McKnight was found at the scene, and she tested positive for gunshot residue on her hands just an hour after the shooting.
Both McCoy and McKnight told officers they were the only ones home at the time, and McCoy stated that he did not shoot himself.
In 2019, McKnight was involved in a previous altercation with her estranged husband, Enoch McKnight. During that incident, she shot him in the groin after asking for his help moving furniture.
The couple married in 2014 but filed for divorce two years later. However, the divorce was still pending at the time of the 2019 shooting, which was ruled self-defense, as the pair were in the midst of a domestic dispute.
In the most recent shooting, the convicted Pennsylvania judge faces up to 60 years in prison.
