By: Lee Merritt
Sean Grayson was the former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old mother of two, inside her Springfield, Illinois home in July 2024 after she called 911 to report a possible prowler. A jury convicted him of second-degree murder, and he was sentenced to 20 years in prison in January 2026.
He had been battling stage 4 colon cancer, but his attorney confirmed he died in prison today, Sunday, August 23, 2026, around noon — his official cause of death has not yet been confirmed.
