The father of Sonya Massey — the Illinois woman who was shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy in her home after calling 911 for help this summer — is asking if things will “ever make sense.”
James Wilburn spoke out about his daughter’s killing in an interview with local CBS affiliate WCIA published on Friday, Dec. 6, following an Illinois appellate court’s ruling ordering Sean Grayson’s pre-trial release.
Grayson, the former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office deputy, was charged with first-degree murder after he fatally shot Massey, who was unarmed, on July 6.
“This man is still a threat to everybody in Springfield,” he said. “Somehow it needs to make sense. We all saw the film. We saw what occurred.”
Wilburn continued, “My granddaughter tells me, ‘Papa, why don’t this man just plead guilty and leave us alone?’ I get the same thing from my sister, my other children, ‘Daddy, why doesn’t he just leave us alone?’ Well, that’s the way the justice system works.”
Sonya Massey.
Wilburn’s latest comments come after an Illinois Appellate Court ordered the Sangamon County Circuit Court last month to set pre-trial release conditions for Grayson, per WICS.
The Sangamon County State’s Attorney Office has since appealed the ruling. The Illinois Supreme Court has also denied an emergency motion to grant his release on Friday, Dec. 6, per documents obtained and shared by Capitol City Now.
Massey called police on July 6 after fearing there was an intruder in her home. Her shooting death was captured on body camera footage, when Massey got up to remove a pot of hot water from the stove and said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
Massey was not seen on camera when Grayson fired at her. She was 36.
Mugshot of Sean Grayson.
Sangamon County Jail
In Grayson’s field report, reviewed by PEOPLE, the now-former deputy claimed he felt “imminent fear” when he fired at Massey.
On July 17, he was indicted on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct and pleaded not guilty. He was fired by the sheriff’s office following the shooting.
Massey’s family has since hired prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump. Per WICS, family members and supporters appeared at the state capitol on Thursday, Dec. 5 to protest the Illinois Appellate Court’s actions.
James Wilburn appeared alongside University of Springfield Professor Dr. Lesa Johnson and activist Teresa Haley.
James Wilburn, father of Sonya Massey, speaks at a press conference on July 22, 2024.
Thomas J. Turney/The State Journal-Register / USA TODAY NETWORK
“My friends, my family, they try to keep me busy so that I’m not alone. It’s when I’m alone that I really, really meditate on our conversations that we used to have,” Wilburn told WCIA of the months since his daughter’s killing.
He added that “they’re talking about letting a killer go on the streets until it’s time for his trial.”
“But like I said, if these three appellate court justices think that Sean Grayson is not a danger to society, move [him] into their house,” he continued, reiterating comments made at the capitol. “Let’s see if their wife and kids would allow him to move and live in their house with him.”
