Opening statements are due to begin in the trial of an Illinois police officer who fatally shot a Black woman in her own home, after she called 911 for help.

Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old single mother of two teenagers, called emergency responders on July 6 2024 over a suspected prowler at her property in Springfield – and killed following an apparent misunderstanding over a hot pan of water.

Sean Grayson, 31, a former deputy for the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department in central Illinois, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder over the incident.

Grayson, who is white has pleaded not guilty to all three counts.

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