Judge convicted of shooting ex-boyfriend in the head as he slept
A magistrate judge in Pennsylvania was convicted of attempted murder and aggravated assault of her ex-boyfriend, who was left blind in one eye after he was shot in the head while he slept. (Image from Shutterstock)
A magistrate judge in Pennsylvania was convicted of attempted murder and aggravated assault of her ex-boyfriend, who was left blind in one eye after he was shot in the head while he slept.
A jury on Wednesday convicted the suspended Dauphin County judge, Sonya McKnight, on both counts. She could face up to 60 years in prison when she is sentenced May 28.
“There were two people in that house, and only two people in that house, and one of them—the one who was shot—said he did not shoot himself ” Cumberland County District Attorney Sean McCormack told reporters after the verdict.
“The logical conclusion is the other person did it, and I’m glad the jury ultimately saw the truth in that statement,” he added.
McKnight’s attorney, Cory Leshner, said his client is innocent and plans to appeal, PennLive.com reported.
McCormack and Leshner did not immediately respond to a Washington Post request for comment early Thursday.
Magisterial District Judge Sonya McKnight. (Photo from the Dauphin County Magisterial District Judge System)
During the trial, prosecutors argued that McKnight was a jealous partner who “didn’t like” being asked to leave after Michael McCoy ended their relationship, according to the Associated Press. Her attorney said that the victim, who was unable to see after the shooting, could not identify the shooter—but McCoy testified that he and McKnight were the only people at the house at the time, the AP reported.
The shooting took place in the early hours of Feb. 10, 2024, at McCoy’s home, shortly after he ended their one-year relationship.
According to a police affidavit, McKnight called for an ambulance, saying that she woke up to her boyfriend screaming and saying he could not see.
“It was found that Michael McCoy sustained a gunshot wound to the face next to his right eye,” the affidavit said. “Neither person provided details as to the series of events that led Michael McCoy to being shot. Michael McCoy stated, ‘I did not shoot myself.’”
According to the affidavit, McCoy said he tried to make McKnight leave after ending the relationship on Feb. 4, 2024, and took her key to his home—but found her inside the home the following day when he returned from work, with McKnight saying she had taken the spare key.
McCoy told police he had a conversation with McKnight hours before the shooting, during which he said she finally understood the relationship was over.
He said he was probably asleep for an hour or two when he woke up with “massive head pain” and unable to see, according to the affidavit, and began screaming. McKnight kept repeating, “Mike what did you do to yourself?” he recalled, but McCoy said he had not heard a gunshot or other noise beforehand.
“His response was pure shock” when he was told by a first responder what had happened, and maintained the injury was not self-inflicted, the affidavit said.
McCormack, the Cumberland County district attorney, told reporters Wednesday that the McCoy family are “very much relieved that they’re finally getting some justice here.”
“You know, it took over a year to get to this point in time,” McCormack continued. “Mike still has a lot of healing to do.”
McKnight became a magistrate judge in 2016. She was suspended without pay in November 2023 by the Pennsylvania’s Court of Judicial Discipline, over allegations that she committed ethical violations while on judicial probation for misconduct over a 2020 traffic stop involving her son. She was acquitted of criminal charges related to that case.
See also:
Judge is on leave pending investigation into shooting of estranged husband
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