Peoria, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Sometimes, you have to let your feelings be known. And, after a week and a half of trial in the case of Sean Grayson — convicted Wednesday of Second Degree Murder for the death of Sonya Massey at her Springfield home — Donna Massey shared her feelings.
Donna Massey is Sonya’s mother. She, and a large contingent of family members sat through every day of the trial the last week and a half. Usually quiet, Donna wasn’t when the jury didn’t give her the First Degree Murder conviction she and others wanted.
“Anybody who saw the (police body-worn camera) video and thinks that it was partly Sonya’s fault, is inhumane,” said Donna Massey. “For them to not give him life, and Sonya got life and death, [Grayson] should be under the jail. I can’t wait until he goes to Hell.”
A conviction is a conviction, though, said Anthony Romanucci, an attorney representing the Massey family. Like the Masseys, Romanucci spoke at a news conference Wednesday in Peoria.
“Their message is the one that the jury said: ‘We rebuke you, Sean Grayson!’ That’s what they said today,” said Romanucci. “This Second Degree Murder charge, make no mistake, Sean Grayson is convicted of murder. He is a murderer now.”
Others were even more direct, like frequent critic Ken Pacha.
“I’m not pro-cancer, but I am in his case. Couldn’t have happened to a better guy,” said Pacha, referencing Grayson’s diagnosis of Stage 3 colon cancer. “The idea that he would ever taste daylight, that he would sit at a cafe table and have a sip of wine, is an injustice to the Massey family and Sonya’s legacy.”
A legacy, Pacha says, is still being written — thanks in part to the Massey Commission, which this week released its list of “calls to action” following about a year’s worth of research and work.
And that’s coming from someone, he says, who was critical of the commission at first.


