Sonya Massey’s Mother Reported She Was Having A Mental Breakdown Before Shooting, 911 Calls Show

Sonya Massey’s mother called 911 to report her daughter having a mental breakdown a day before Massey, 36, was fatally shot inside of her home by an Illinois deputy, according to emergency call audio released this week.

“She has been having a mental breakdown, which is something new to me,” Donna Massey, her mother, can be heard saying on the call. “She is not a danger to herself, she is not a danger to me. But when she gets upset, then she thinks everyone is after her, like paranoid or schizophrenic.”

The call provides more context about whether authorities knew that Sonya Massey was suffering from mental health issues on July 6, when a deputy fatally shot her in Springfield, Illinois.

Sean Grayson, 30, was fired from the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department and charged with three counts of first-degree murder on July 17 for shooting and killing Massey while she was holding a pot of water inside of her kitchen. Grayson was also charged with aggravated battery and official misconduct.

Donna Massey called 911 on July 5 around 9 a.m., according to dispatch call records. Around 10 a.m., Springfield police arrived at the home of her daughter Sonya Massey, who said she did not want to speak with medical professionals at the time.

Then, in another 911 call around 1 p.m. that same day, Sonya Massey said that a neighbor had gone to her house and was causing problems, alleging that the person had broken her driver’s seat window with a brick. Sometime after that call, Massey went to the hospital. It’s unclear if she went on her own or was accompanied by police.

Once at the hospital, Massey told medical personnel that she had broken another window herself on the driver’s side of her car to get into the vehicle and get away.