Illinois
Illinois woman Sonya Massey fatally shot by Sheriff’s deputy had called 911 for help multiple times before her death – Times of India
One of the calls came from her mother, Donna Massey, who expressed concern to the dispatcher, saying, “I don’t want you guys to hurt her,” and explained that her daughter feared the police.She specifically requested that no officer who might be “prejudiced” be sent, reported AP.
The Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department is currently investigating whether the deputies who responded to the call about a suspected prowler at Massey’s home were aware of her mental health history. Body-worn camera footage released last week suggests that this information was not communicated to the officers. In the video, former sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson, who shot Massey, is heard asking dispatch two minutes after the shooting if there was any record of previous calls indicating she had mental health issues.
Jeff Wilhite, spokesperson for Sheriff Jack Campbell, mentioned that while such information is passed along if known, there is no automatic mechanism to ensure it is relayed. “The dispatcher would have to know ‘yes, it’s the same person’ and ‘yes, it’s the same address,'” Wilhite explained.
Another 911 call from July 4, released in response to public records requests, involved an unnamed caller reporting that someone was trying to harm them, only to disconnect after stating, “This must not be the right number.” Officials are unsure if Massey made this call.
Grayson, 30, has been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, and official misconduct for the shooting death of 36-year-old Massey. He has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bond.
The body-cam footage reveals that after Grayson and another deputy arrived at Massey’s home just before 1 a.m. on July 6, she appeared confused, repeatedly asking, “Please God” and “Don’t hurt me.” Inside her home, she struggled to find her ID and asked for her Bible. When she suddenly said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” while holding a pot of water, Grayson drew his gun and fired three shots, one of which struck her below the left eye.
Massey’s family has stated that she had a history of mental health struggles and had recently sought treatment. Her 17-year-old son, Malachi Hill Massey, shared that his mother had checked into a 30-day inpatient treatment program in the St. Louis area at the start of July, only to return two days later.
On July 4, at 9:27 p.m., a 911 caller from Massey’s address reported that “somebody’s trying to hurt me.” When pressed for more information, the caller said, “Never mind,” and disconnected. Later that morning, Donna Massey called 911, describing her daughter’s paranoid behavior and emphasizing that she was not dangerous but had become increasingly fearful and distressed.
Springfield police responded to the call and found that Massey did not want to speak to medical professionals but was checked by emergency medical technicians. Massey herself later called to report a neighbor hitting her with a brick, leading a sheriff’s deputy to meet her at a hospital. The deputy noted that she appeared to be experiencing mental health issues and was seeking treatment for minor injuries. Massey mentioned she had recently been released from a mental health facility and claimed police had tried to run her off the road earlier that day.
Twelve hours after this incident, Grayson and another deputy responded to the July 6 call, where body-cam footage shows them noticing the broken windows on Massey’s SUV. Grayson questioned her about the vehicle, and when she denied owning it, he asked if she was “doing all right mentally,” to which she replied, “Yes, I took my medicine.”
Minutes later, after the shooting, Grayson radioed in to ask if there was any call history indicating Massey had mental health issues. The response is not heard, but Grayson is later heard saying, “That would explain a lot.”
OAK PARK, Ill. (WLS) — About 500 furloughed employees of West Suburban Medical Center have received notices that they will not be returning to their jobs, marking the latest development in the uncertain future of the hospital as its owners continue negotiating a settlement over its future.
ABC7 obtained multiple copies of a letter sent to employees stating there would be “a mass layoff at West Suburban Medical Center” beginning Aug. 31 and that “this mass layoff is expected to be permanent.”
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West Suburban Medical Center CEO Manoj Prasad told ABC7 the notices were required under the Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN Act, which limits furloughs to six months and requires advance notification before a permanent separation.
Prasad said the hospital’s plans to reopen have not changed, but there is still no firm reopening date.
Sylvia Williams, a former head of nursing at West Suburban Medical Center, said staff knew layoffs were a possibility but hoped they would not become necessary.
SEE ALSO | Exit strategy? Settlement negotiations underway over future of Oak Park safety-net hospital
The notices come amid an ongoing court battle between West Suburban Medical Center owners Prasad and landowner Rathnaker Patlola. The two sued each other in the weeks following the hospital’s closure in March.
ABC7’s I-Team was in court Tuesday for a hearing on progress toward a settlement agreement involving the hospital. During the hearing, attorneys representing Resilience Healthcare did not mention layoffs.
Sources close to the settlement discussions told the I-Team the notices are “a big deal” and that Prasad “had not consulted with anyone” about plans to permanently lay off the remaining furloughed employees.
One source also told the I-Team that the judge was surprised by the news and “upset” it was not disclosed.
Patlola issued a statement saying, in part, that he was “surprised and disappointed” and that employees “deserved far better.”
Settlement negotiations over the future of West Suburban hospital remain ongoing.
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Illinois
U.S. Supreme Court rejects effort to end birthright citizenship; Illinois advocates relieved
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A Springfield Township man who was on parole for engaging in a sex act during a Facetime call with two children is now facing public indecency charges, police said.
Police said Leon D. Sims, 44, was seen masturbating June 25 at the Barnes and Noble at the Bridgewater Falls Shopping Center in Fairfield Township.
Sims has a history of similar offenses and is listed on the National Sex Offender registry.
He was charged with public indecency in 2011 after being accused of exposing his genitals to a library employee in Cincinnati.
In 2016, Sims was arrested for masturbating in a public place in Cincinnati. Three years later, he was accused of similar conduct in front of children near a Franklin County high school.
His most recent parole violation is related to a 2021 offense, in which he masturbated in front of two young girls, 9 and 15, over a Facetime call. One of the victims realized what was happening and recorded the call, which was later used as evidence.
Sims also recently spent time in federal prison for coercing a woman into prostitution and transporting her to Ohio, Kentucky and California, according to court documents. Prosecutors said that Sims forced the woman into prostitution “countless times” over a period of months between 2020 and 2021.
In a sentencing memorandum from the 2021 case involving the Facetime call, prosecutors said it was “well within the realm of possibility” that Sims had committed the crime to groom the 9-year-old girl into prostitution. They added that he was operating his sex trafficking business two weeks before he exposed himself on Facetime in front of the two girls.
According to prison records, Sims was no longer in federal prison custody as of September 2024.
Sims was convicted in Hamilton County in February 2025 of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles in the Facetime case. He was paroled from state prison in November 2025.
Sims had no attorney listed in court documents at the time this story was published.
This story may be updated.
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