Sean Grayson, a former Illinois sheriff’s deputy convicted of second-degree murder for the 2024 death of Sonya Massey, heard from her family as a judge handed him a 20-year prison sentence for the murder.

Just before the Jan. 29 verdict, Sonya’s mother, Donna Massey, looked at Grayson and repeated her daughter’s final words, spoken moments before he fatally shot the mother of two who had called 911 about a possible prowler outside her Springfield home.

”Sean Grayson, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” Donna said, as cited by The New York Times.

Sonya’s children, 19-year-old Malachi Hill Massey and 16-year-old Summer Massey, spoke in court for the first time. Summer described the lasting trauma of her mother’s murder, saying her life has never been the same, reading from a paper as Grayson watched.

“It does not feel like he truly understands or cares about the damage he has caused,” Summer said.

Malachi called the pain of losing his mother “unimaginable.”

“My soul is ripped, it’s like a part of me is really dead,” Malachi said.

After the sentencing, Summer said she was grateful but acknowledged it could never make up for the family’s devastating loss.

“I’m thankful for all the love and support that everybody has came out and shown, and I’m grateful that we got the maximum sentence that we could,” Summer said. “Twenty years is not enough, but they did what … they could do.”

In court, Grayson spoke after his defense, admitting for the first time that he had done wrong, saying he made “terrible decisions” that night and apologizing for Massey’s death.

”I was very unprofessional that night,” Grayson said. “She didn’t deserve to be yelled at, cussed at, and called names. Nobody deserves that.”

Grayson’s defense sought leniency, citing his worsening stage 4 colon cancer, but Judge Ryan Cadigan of the 7th Judicial Circuit Court of Illinois imposed the maximum sentence, saying, “That bit of unreasonable rage needs to be deterred.”

A defense motion for a new trial, filed in November, was also denied.

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