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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. Autopsy findings released Friday on Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman fatally shot in her Illinois home by a now-fired sheriff's deputy charged in her death, confirm that she died from a gunshot wound to the head.ss..
The report was released shortly before civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Masseys family, denounced the killing by ex-sheriffs deputy Sean Grayson as senseless, unnecessary and excessive..
Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon had previously disclosed initial findings on Massey's July 6 death in Springfield and the full autopsy report released Friday confirmed those conclusions, including that her death was a homicide..
Grayson is 6-foot-3 and 228 pounds . The autopsy lists Massey at 5-foot-4 and 112 pounds . Prosecutors have added that the distance between shooter and victim and a counter between them gave Grayson "distance and relative cover" from the hot water..
He later relented while the second deputy held towels to Massey's head to try to stem the bleeding, but by the time Grayson returned with his kit, emergency medical professionals had arrived and when they told Grayson his help wasn't needed, he threw his kit on the floor and said, "I'm not even gonna waste my med stuff then." . Massey struggled with mental illness, according to her family..
