SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Fifteen months after Sonya Massey, a Black woman who had called 911 for help, was killed in her home, the former police officer who fired the fatal shot is set to go on trial.

Sean Grayson, 31, a former deputy for the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department in central Illinois, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder.

The trial was scheduled to begin Wednesday with opening statements. If convicted of murder, Grayson faces a sentence of 45 years to life in prison. Prosecutors dismissed single counts of aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct.

On July 6, 2024, Massey, a 36-year-old single mother of two teenagers who struggled with mental health issues, called emergency responders over a suspected prowler. When Grayson, who is white, and another deputy entered her Springfield home to report finding no one, Grayson noticed a pan of hot water on the stove and ordered it removed.

According to body-camera video that is certain to play a key role in the trial, Grayson and Massey joked about how the deputy backed away as she moved the pan before Massey said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” Grayson later told sheriff’s investigators he thought Massey’s statement meant she intended to kill him, yelled at her to drop the pot and in the subsequent commotion, fired three shots, striking her just below the eye.

The incident has prompted continued questions about U.S. law enforcement shootings of Black people in their homes and generated a change in Illinois law requiring fuller transparency on the background of candidates for law enforcement jobs.

A jury of 10 women and five men, including three alternates, will hear testimony that’s predicted to end next week. The questioning of prospective jurors on Monday by Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser and defense attorney Daniel Fultz focused on attitudes toward law enforcement during a volatile time in America.

Witnesses scheduled to testify for both the state and defense are reported to be experts in police training, generally accepted police practices, use of force, body camera video, use of video in investigations and the review of incidents involving the use of force.

The national attention the case has garnered prompted Sangamon County Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin to move the trial from Springfield to Peoria, 167 miles (269 kilometers) southwest of Chicago.

When it comes to fall colors, Illinois stretches the season longer than most states, with colors starting in northern Illinois in late September and peaking in the south well into November.

Each year, websites like SmokyMountains.com publish a fall foliage prediction map that shows stages such as patchy, partial, near-peak, peak, and past-peak across the country. While the map is focused primarily on the eastern U.S. and regions like the Smoky Mountains, it also provides a helpful nationwide context and visual timeline for seasonal leaf change.

Here’s what the fall color timeline looks like across Illinois.

Northern Illinois: Late September to mid-October

If you live near Chicago, Rockford, or the Galena area, you’ll see the first hints of color before the rest of the state. Leaves in northern Illinois usually begin to change by the third or fourth week of September.

The peak display arrives around the second or third week of October. Popular spots include Starved Rock State Park, Matthiessen State Park, Rock Cut State Park, and the Great River Road, which runs along the Mississippi.

Central Illinois: Early to Late October

In the heart of the state, from Springfield to Peoria and Champaign, trees hold their green a little longer. Color typically starts to appear in the first half of October.

By the middle to late part of the month, central Illinois hits its stride.

City parks, forest preserves, and stretches of rural highway all light up. Spots such as Allerton Park near Monticello and the Sangamon River Valley as reliable fall color destinations.

The trial of a former Illinois deputy who is accused of killing Sonya Massey began on Monday in Peoria, Illinois.

Massey, a Black 36-year-old mother of two, was fatally shot in July 2024 after calling authorities to her Springfield home over concerns about a prowler, officials said. Body camera footage shows two deputies responding to the incident, including then-Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson.

Grayson, who is white, shot Massey three times, saying in a report written after the incident that he feared bodily harm because she was holding a pot of boiling water and said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”

Almost two weeks after Massey’s killing, Grayson was fired and charged with three counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated battery, and one count of official misconduct. He pleaded not guilty and was held in jail pending trial.

Grayson’s trial started on Monday morning with a jury selection. No cameras were allowed in the courtroom, and the trial is expected to last for one to two weeks.

The case ignited a national firestorm, prompting protesters across the country to call for justice for Massey, who suffered from mental health issues, according to her family. In February, Sangamon County officials agreed to pay a $10 million settlement to Massey’s family, a step their attorney, Ben Crump, called “only the first step in the journey for justice.”

In April, a judge granted a venue change for the trial from Sangamon County to Peoria after receiving a request from defense attorneys who said media coverage and the nature of the case have “shaped public perception, making it difficult to separate fact from speculation,” NBC Chicago reported.

A group of people gathered for a rally outside the Peoria County Courthouse on Monday morning, holding signs calling for justice for Massey. One sign read: “Unite Now Against Racist Violence.”

“No justice, no peace. Prosecute the police, ” the crowd chanted.

Keri Hayes, the racial justice committee chairwoman for the American Civil Liberties Union in Peoria, was one of the handful of people outside the courthouse.

“I really feel like it was a senseless slaying that happened, and I really want to see the police being held accountable,” she told NBC News.