PEORIA — The murder case of a white ex-cop accused of killing an unarmed Black woman in her Springfield-area home is now before a jury after lawyers on both sides presented their closing arguments Tuesday.

In a nationally watched trial, former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson, 31, is facing three counts of first-degree murder for fatally shooting 36-year-old Sonya Massey. Last year, she had called the police to report a suspected prowler when Grayson and another deputy responded.

That seemingly routine call took a fatal turn in a matter of minutes, when Grayson threatened to shoot Massey “in her f****ing face” if she didn’t put down a pot of boiling water that had been on her stovetop. The former deputy shot at Massey three times while she ducked behind her kitchen counter,

See Full Page