Sean Grayson, former deputy accused of killing Sonya Massey, opts for jury trial

SANGAMON COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) — The former Sangamon County Deputy accused of killing Sonya Massey will have his case go in front of a jury. This comes after his last hearing before going to trial.

Friends and family of Sonya Massey gathered at the Sangamon County Courthouse Thursday afternoon.

Sean Grayson appeared for his final pre-trial hearing. Grayson had a decision to make: stand trial in front of a jury or a judge. Grayson chose a jury.

“I am glad that they decided to go with a jury trial as opposed to a bench trial. I think the community and the world wants to see this played out,” community activist Teresa Haley said.

The defense and prosecution made it clear, there were no plea offers or negotiations made on his charges. Grayson faces up to 60 years in prison for first degree murder and an additional 25 to life if he is found guilty of using a firearm to commit that murder.

Grayson could also be sentenced to six to 30 years for aggravated battery and two to five years for officials misconduct.

“We are hoping that he’s in there, the minimum of 45 to 100 years. We hope that he never gets out of jail,” Haley said.

Massey’s family described the upcoming trial as “ground zero”. They are expecting large protests outside of the Peoria County Courthouse. And, they are calling on those protests to remain peaceful.

“We don’t want to go to Peoria and say that we came over there and we tore up Peoria because that’s not what we want. We want peaceful protest and we want justice for Sonya,” Haley said.

But Massey’s family are hoping the significant media attention won’t sway jurors. They are confident the body camera footage will show the truth of what happened that evening.

“The jurors are going to see is what we saw, the immediate family saw. You’re going to see her get shot in the face. You’re going to see the blood splatter all over and you’re going to see it play by play. Second by second. So we’re not telling anybody to watch anything. We want the jurors to come in there and have their own experience to use their own judgment,” said Haley.

WCIA reached out to Grayson’s Attorney, Mark Wykoff, for comment but did not immediately receive a response back. Grayson’s trial will begin at 9 a.m. on Oct. 20 in Peoria.