Jury selection is underway in the murder trial of former Illinois sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson, accused of killing Sonya Massey. Grayson claims he acted in self-defense, as the case draws national attention to police use of force and accountability.

Illinois

Jury selection has started in Illinois for the trial of former sheriff's deputy Sean Grayson, who is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery, and official misconduct in the killing of Sonya Massey. Massey had called 9-1-1 to report a possible prowler, and an altercation occurred after she went to turn off the heat on her stove. Grayson was arrested and fired shortly after the incident and has pleaded not guilty.

The prosecution's case relies heavily on body camera footage, aiming to prove that Grayson could have retreated instead of using lethal force. Investigations into the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office revealed a history of alleged civil rights abuses, but these are not expected to factor into the trial. The state's attorney has described the case as 'absolutely criminal,' leading to swift charges against Grayson.

Jury selection begins in murder trial of deputy who killed Sonya Massey

Jury selection began today in the trial of a former Illinois Sheriff's deputy accused of killing Sonia Massey in July 2024 Massey called 9-1-1 to report a possible prowler near her home an Altercation ensued after Massey went to go turn off the heat on a boiling pot of water on her stove We want to warn you the following body camera footage may be disturbing I'm sorry Deputy Sean Grayson was arrested and fired about a week and a half after the incident he pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder aggravated battery and official misconduct if Convicted Grayson faces 45 years to life in prison for more. Let's bring in Anna Schechter She's a senior coordinating producer for CBS News's crime and public safety unit So Anna this case will rely heavily on that body camera footage. What is the prosecution looking to prove here? Well, it might seem obvious. We just watched Sean Grayson pulled that trigger But the prosecutors have to actually prove this to a jury and have the jury convict him on that murder charge It's a very high bar He said in the statements immediately after that that he felt threatened he was worried that hot water was gonna get thrown to him I suspect the prosecutor who's the state's attorney John Milheim He is going to lean into he could have just retreated if he felt that way if he perceived it When you watch that video and my team we've analyzed it. It's been slow motion Over and over and over and it doesn't seem that it was an immediate threat now Even if he perceived that he could have retreated So that's gonna be the question at issue and you and the CBS News crime and public safety team also Investigated the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office following Massey's death. What did you ultimately find? Could that factor into this case? Well, we looked back at 20 years of records and we found 50 cases of alleged civil rights abuses. So Allegations of unfair treatment in custody. We found people who died in custody who were killed in in custody us a Corrections officer sat on someone who died a young man went untreated an infection went untreated and he died in custody And we've interviewed the parents and loved ones of of these people So none of that is likely gonna factor in and even the state's attorney when I spoke to him during the course of our investigation he was defensive of Sangamon County as a whole, but he identified this case as Absolutely criminal and that's why he immediately brought these charges. Okay, and a Schechter. Thank you

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