The fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman by a White sheriff’s deputy in Illinois, has sparked anger and gained attention from President Joe Biden, celebrities and other personalities.
Following the release of police body camera footage on Monday, many have been calling for justice for the Springfield, Illinois woman who died after authorities said she called 911 to report a possible intruder.
On July 6, Massey called the police to her home in Springfield to report that she believed someone had broken into her property. Police body camera footage shows Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson and another deputy following her inside as Massey enters her home. The officers ask for her ID and watch as she searches for it.
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The deputies later ask Massey to check on a pot of water boiling on her stove. The footage later shows Grayson shooting Massey in the face after the deputy yells at her to put down the pot of boiling water. Grayson has since been sacked from the police force and charged with murder and official misconduct but he has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
“Sonya Massey, a beloved mother, friend, daughter, and young Black woman, should be alive today,” Biden said in a press statement on Monday. “Sonya’s family deserves justice. I am heartbroken for her children and her entire family as they face this unthinkable and senseless loss.”
Amid the growing calls for justice, here is what to know about Massey before her unfortunate death.
Massey was a mother of two — a 15-year-old daughter and a 17-year-old son. One of four siblings who are all girls, Massey was born to parents Donna Massey and James Wilburn on February 12, 1988, in San Diego, her obituary states.
“Today is about peace, today is about my big sister. It’s not about that man that’s gonna rot in jail, it’s about my big sister,” Massey’s younger sister, Breeanna Toles, said at a funeral service held for Massey on Friday. “As baby sister, I look back at our text messages. She’d say, ‘I love you, baby sister.’ I hold onto those memories. I wish all of my sisters could be in the room today.”
Massey was remembered by her church as one who was devoted to a life in Christ, adding that this was seen through her dedication to not only her family and friends but also her community.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that my baby is resting in the arms of Jesus right now,” Massey’s father Wilburn said at the funeral. “My baby got tired of living in temporary housing. There’s a home that she had that’s not made by man’s hands. There’s some streets that are made of gold.”
Massey’s son Malachi also described her as loving and caring. “She was just a ball of energy. She could talk to anybody. She was a lovable person. She always helped people.”
Besides being a great cook, Massey also loved doing hair, her family said at the service.
“I’ve been a vegetarian for 25 and I still miss her shredded chicken nachos,” said Massey’s first cousin during the funeral service.
Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing Massey’s family, called the shooting “senseless”, adding that Massey struggled with her mental health.
Massey’s shooting is an example of how police encounters with Black people often turn into violence. Data on police shootings cited by the Washington Post show that of the 1,161 victims fatally shot by police in 2023, eight were Black women.
Grayson has argued that Massey was coming toward him with the boiling water. However, Crump said the video shows otherwise.
“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,” Crump said. “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.”
