Information is starting to leak out about the Sonia Massie story, and things are getting complicated. The incident happened earlier that day, and I talked to two officers. I believe one of them is the same officer who is now connected to my family. My mother, Brenda Butterfield, is the grandmother-in-law to this person, Sean Gra—. Sonia’s mother has revealed that the police knew about Sonia’s mental health condition but still chose to use aggressive force.
But that’s not all. Sonia’s son has made a shocking revelation: the police officer who killed his mother knew her. This fact changes everything and points towards a potential setup. To make matters more tangled, Shawn’s girlfriend and Sonia knew each other, and Shawn got his job thanks to his girlfriend’s dad. This means Isabelle, the girlfriend, had a lot of influence in the relationship. If Sonia did something to upset Isabelle, Shawn might have decided to take action himself.
So, are people onto something here? Did Shawn really go into Sonia’s home with a sinister plan? Were the police setting her up? Let’s dig deeper and find out.
We’re going to keep an eye on this, but remember, it’s just a theory. We’ll keep you updated as things unfold. Something feels off to me about her not having clothes on and whatever was happening outside her house. The police seemed to know a lot already.
The day Sonia called 911 to report an intruder wasn’t the first time she reached out to the authorities. In the days leading up to this incident, there were several emergency calls from Sonia’s house. In one of those calls, her mom, Donna Massie, told the authorities that Sonia was having a mental breakdown.
“I don’t want you guys to hurt her,” Donna said. It was around 9:00 a.m., and Sonia was out on the streets yelling. Donna explained that when Sonia gets upset, she gets paranoid, thinking everyone’s out to get her. Donna was clearly worried about her daughter and asked the authorities not to send any officer who might have prejudices.
In another call, a woman who didn’t give her name said that people were trying to hurt her. Then, a day later, Sonia called again, saying a neighbor had hit her with a brick. After that call, a sheriff’s deputy met her at the hospital, where she was getting treatment. Sonia told the deputy the same story about the neighbor and mentioned she had broken a window to get into a car to escape. She also said she had recently been released from a mental health facility and that earlier that day, a police officer had tried to run her off the road.
What’s really going on here?
This is where Sonia’s son, Malachi Hill Massie, comes into the picture. Her family has been working tirelessly to uncover the truth, holding press conference after press conference. During a recent one, Malachi had some interesting things to say. According to him, on the day of the incident, there was another 911 call, and two officers came to their home because of it. He believes Shawn was there too.
“Malachi, you might want to mention that law enforcement was there earlier that day,” someone prompted him.
“There was an incident earlier that day,” Malachi said. “I talked to two officers. I believe one of them was the officer who later shot my mom. I spoke to his partner first, then the second officer—who I think did it. They told me my mom was driving herself to the hospital. She wasn’t even at the house then, but they said they were going to help her. Then this happened.”
This has got the internet buzzing. If Shawn was at the house earlier, he knew about Sonia’s mental health struggles and still acted aggressively. So, was Sonia set up? It’s not the first time this idea has come up. In an interview with CBS Mornings, Sonia’s dad, James Wilburn, said he didn’t even know a police officer was involved at first. He was told an intruder had attacked his daughter.
“You mentioned getting conflicting stories. What exactly were you told about what happened?”
“Well, I was never told it was a deputy-involved shooting. We thought an intruder or someone from the street killed her, and they just found her dead. I didn’t find out deputies were involved until my brother asked for Sonia’s address. When I gave it to him, he said, ‘This says deputies were involved,’ and I was like, ‘What are you talking about?'”
There was even a story going around that Sonia had done this to herself. But in the end, it was the body cam footage that brought everything to light. It was the most heart-wrenching thing we’ve ever seen. Without that footage, we wouldn’t have known the truth. Sonia’s dad mentioned she seemed to have a sense of what was about to happen. She told the officer, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” which seemed to set him off.
“What do you think she meant by that? What was going on that made her say those words?”
“I think she feared for her life. She must have had some premonition, and it seemed like he was acting as an emissary of Satan.”
Speaking of the body cam footage, Shawn turned off his body cam during the incident. It was his partner’s footage that revealed the truth. So, did Shawn turn it off because he had planned everything? Was he trying to cover his tracks? Was it not a random act of violence, as we’ve been led to believe? It seems so, based on the information that has come to light. One person commented, “That’s why he called her a crazy b-word. He already knew her from the day before.” And if you think that’s a stretch, wait till you hear about the connection between Sonia and Shawn’s fiancée.
Shawn’s fiancée, Isabelle Butterfield, knew Sonia. Yes, you heard that right. Isabelle was supposed to marry Shawn in October, but that’s on hold now. Sources say Isabelle and Sonia met at the mental health treatment center where Isabelle used to work. Sonia had a hospital bracelet on when she died, and the nearest place for medical care was Capital Community Health Center, just an 8-minute drive from her house.
This is where theories come in. Many believe Sonia was at the health center before the incident, and something happened between her and Isabelle, leading Sonia to rush home. Could it be that Shawn caused the situation in the backyard and then took the call, leaving Sonia no time to dress? If you heard something in the driveway, wouldn’t you get dressed and prepare just in case? Many think there’s something suspicious. One person noted, “You may be on to something because he was determined to get into her house and had a negative attitude towards her as soon as she opened the door. She said, ‘Don’t hurt me.'”
Another commented, “Why was she on the phone with 911 dispatch the whole time until Grayson told her to put the phone down? Then she requested her Bible. She knew he was there to hurt her.” People believe authorities should compare the average response time in the area to the response time on the day of the incident. If this was planned, does it mean his partner was involved too? This suspicion surrounds Shawn Grayson. Additionally, his shady employment history has people fuming. When Shawn’s name hit the headlines, many dug into his background and found that he wasn’t hired for his qualifications. Instead, he got the job because he had a reference from his fiancée’s father.
WCIA obtained Grayson’s personnel files through the Freedom of Information Act, revealing some surprising details. His girlfriend was listed as his emergency contact, and her father, Scott Butterfield, was listed as a reference. Butterfield, a former sheriff’s deputy who retired after 30 years in 2020, likely helped Shawn get the job with his strong recommendation.
West Wooden, who investigated Grayson, quoted Butterfield saying, “Mr. Grayson is currently dating my daughter. He is a mellow, non-confrontational person with good communication skills. I highly recommend him for employment with the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office.” Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell also noted that Grayson’s references were from well-known and trusted people. This raises the question: did Grayson’s strong references cause everyone to ignore the warning signs?
The warning signs were there. Shawn worked at six different law enforcement agencies between 2020 and 2024. He had two drunk driving convictions within a year, one of which led to his early discharge from the Army. Despite this, a psychological evaluation on May 31, 2023, declared him fit to serve, but noted he needed to slow down to make good decisions. He was supposed to attend high-stress management classes, but he never did.
Sheriff Campbell claimed to be unaware of any issues at Shawn’s previous workplaces, but the records tell a different story. Shawn was investigated twice for his behavior at the Logan County Sheriff’s Office. During a high-speed chase, he ignored orders to terminate the pursuit, turned off his sirens and lights to avoid detection, and eventually crashed into a deer.
“Well, I’ll definitely be fired because a deer just hit the side of my driver’s side door.”
“Did you violate a direct order?”
“Yes.”
“From a supervisor about termination?”
“Yes, I did.”
Grayson was questioned by his superiors about the incident.
“Do you agree before we conclude this that there is a mountain of policy violations?”
“So, after seven months, how are you still employed here?”
“I don’t know.”
There’s also a report from his boss at the Auburn, Illinois, Police Department back in 2022. The Auburn Chief wrote a review of Shawn’s performance for a representative of Logan County. According to the report, Grayson struggled with report writing, which, to be fair, is something we can overlook. However, what we can’t overlook is the part where the Auburn Chief said Grayson was aggressive and posted about his illegal substance arrest on social media. But did Sheriff Campbell pay any attention to it? No, he did not. Instead, he gave reporters his own twisted reasoning for ignoring it.
“Among the comments from his prior employers was that he needed more training. This is not unusual for deputies with Grayson’s experience and a standard procedure for Sangamon County deputies. Grayson was subsequently sent to a 16-week academy training, a requirement for all new and lateral transfer deputies in our office.”
He also said a DUI does not disqualify a potential candidate and that Grayson’s questionable employment history didn’t raise any red flags but instead showed his admirable ambition to advance to larger and more structured departments. Mark Aers, a Sangamon County Board member responsible for hiring new deputies, said he was never made aware of Shawn’s troubled past or the negative reports by his previous employers, which people find ridiculous.
“How is the police doing business? I would never bring on someone with that troubled past or that record.”
So yeah, there are a lot of questions to be asked here. Why did everyone around Grayson trust him so blindly? Why did his father-in-law back him? And since they did all that, are they to be blamed for his actions as well? But that’s hardly the worst of it—enter the grandmother-in-law to the rescue. With Shawn being villainized by the public, his grandmother-in-law came out of hiding to defend him. She wrote an op-ed titled “Does anyone care about Shawn Grayson’s family or what horrifying reality they are dealing with?” And if that had you raising your eyebrows, you’re not ready to hear what she actually wrote. She starts off writing:
“First, to the protesters: what are you protesting? Shawn is in jail, charges are filed, a trial date to be set, and punishment to be applied. Shawn is not going anywhere. So please stop wearing out your sweat glands. Take your signs, go home, and just be humans, not the amusement or disgust of the public.”
Of course, people who read the op-ed were pissed. They felt like Butterfield was missing the entire point. People were protesting why Shawn was on the force in the first place, even after his history. It’s not just about him; he highlights a deeper systemic issue within the police force that needs to be addressed. And then there’s also the fact that he took a life. Even if he is placed in handcuffs, that doesn’t erase the loss of life.
“Nothing like a weak ass (expletive) in their hypocrisy, in their white privilege, thinking they can just tell someone protesting to go home. We’re not only protesting your weak ass grandson-in-law, Sonia Massie; we’re protesting the fact that he was even on the police force in the first place after having four years and six jobs under his belt, not to mention two DUI convictions. You knew about that, right? Yeah, you knew about that. That’s also part of this protest. He shouldn’t have been there in the first place to kill an unarmed black woman.”
And then Butterfield goes, “Does anyone care about Shawn’s family or what horrifying reality they are dealing with? What about his fiancée he was to marry in October? She is an innocent young woman who is also being unfairly persecuted. Does anyone care about the destruction of her life? She is left to deal with emotional death. Shawn’s future in-laws, a to-be father-in-law who is as close to Shawn as a father can be, a future mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and brother-in-law who is Shawn’s friend, future grandparents who loved Shawn dearly and still do—shock, disbelief, and reality, but an undying support for Shawn. The past cannot be relieved; the future is unknown.”
Once again, fans were pissed. Why would Shawn’s family be the ones suffering here? What about the kids of the mother whose life he took? What about Sonia’s family and friends? And what’s this about Shawn’s fiancée dealing with an emotional death? What about Sonia’s family, who had to bury her physically?
“This weak ass (expletive) talks about horrifying realities. Did you all have to bury Sonia last Friday like Sonia Massie’s family had to? Did you all have to contend with the fact that you don’t even have all of the circumstances and details surrounding why your weak ass grandson-in-law, since that’s what you want to call him, even shot their loved one in the first place? You want to talk about horrific reality.”
But the lines that have everyone fuming are:
“We will always support Shawn. Judge not, lest you be judged. No man or woman is without sin. There is a final judgment for all.”
Proud grandmother-to-be of Shawn Grayson.
I’m sorry, but what is there to be proud of? He took a life for no reason. And what’s with the religious references when her son-in-law drew his weapon after a woman said she rebuked him in the name of Jesus?
“We will always support Shawn.” And you can because Shawn is alive. A casket is supporting Sonia Massie right now.
One person even wrote, “The paper that ran this should be ashamed of themselves.” As for the public, they think something is definitely fishy about the situation. One person commented, “Yes, it was planned. Why did he turn his body cam off? Thank God the other cop had his on.” Meanwhile, another person wrote, “The cop went there specifically for that. Sonia’s fate was sealed that night before she even answered the front door. Premeditated unaliving.”
But what do you think of the situation? Do you think Sonia was set up? Is putting Shawn behind bars enough, or should everyone around him be investigated? Let us know in the comments section below.
