A former magistrate judge in Pennsylvania, who is now 58 years old, is expected to spend decades in prison for her attempt to kill her partner, who was 55 years old at the time of the incident. The man was shot in the head while he was sleeping in his house last year. The authorities reported that a jury in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, found Sonya M. McKnight guilty on charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault in connection with the incident that left Michael McCoy permanently blind in one eye. The verdict was handed down on Wednesday.
McKnight, who had previously shot her estranged husband in the groin in an incident that was considered to be self-defense, submitted to two days of testimony before the jury deliberated and ultimately found her guilty of the charges against her.
McCoy’s residence, which is located in the 200 block of Saddle Ridge Drive in Dauphin County, was the location of the shooting that took place in the early morning hours of Saturday, February 10, 2024, as stated in a press release issued by the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office.
The statement that was written by the prosecutors in the release stated that “McKnight shot the victim in the head while the victim was sleeping in bed.” After entering the victim’s face on the right side, the bullet traveled through his head in a straight path behind and slightly below his eyes, and then it exited the victim’s face on the left side. The person was able to survive one of the bullet wounds, but as a consequence, they are blind in one eye.
Although the shooting took place in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, the investigation was taken up by the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office at the request of the Dauphin County District Attorney, Fran Chardo. Due to the fact that McKnight was a magistrate district judge in the county, Chardo indicated that his office was unable to prosecute the case because of a conflict of interest that existed between these two positions.
In the beginning, Chardo had asked the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office to take jurisdiction over the case; however, the AG’s office responded by stating that it had a conflict of interest in prosecuting McKnight.
WHP-TV, a CBS affiliate in Harrisburg, was able to get court documents that offered further information regarding the proposed shooting investigation.
The report stated that McKnight and McCoy had been dating for approximately one year at the time of the report. When McCoy made the decision to end their relationship on February 4, McKnight had already moved into McCoy’s home. She apparently refused to leave McKnight’s house despite the fact that she asked him to do so multiple times.
In addition, it was alleged that on February 4, McCoy removed the key to his house from McKnight’s key ring, despite the fact that the majority of her clothing and personal belongings were still inside the house.
Upon McCoy’s awakening the following morning, it was reported by WHP that McKnight had already left. However, McKnight had already returned by the time he got home from work, and she informed him that she had unlocked the door for herself by using the spare key.
Over the course of the subsequent few days, nothing of note occurred until McCoy went out to eat at a restaurant on the evening of February 9th. According to reports, he informed law enforcement that he had a suspicion that McKnight was following him, a suspicion that the law enforcement officials were able to verify.
According to the Associated Press, McCoy informed McKnight that he intended to call her mother in order to assist him in getting her to leave the house. McKnight was asleep on the couch when he returned home.
An affidavit of probable cause was written by the police, which indicated that Michael McCoy had stated that it was as if she had finally accepted that it was over.
According to the Associated Press, McCoy stated that he went to sleep just before 11 o’clock at night and woke up just before 1 o’clock in the morning with “massive head pain” and started crying because he was unable to see.
On multiple occasions, McKnight inquired, “Mike, what was it that you did to yourself?”
According to reports, McKnight contacted 911 using McCoy’s phone and stated that she need an ambulance since her lover was no longer able to see effectively. It is said in the affidavit that McKnight “could not explain what happened and stated that she was sleeping and heard him screaming” when she was questioned by the dispatcher.
The bullet had exited McCoy’s left temple after making its way through his right temple, where it had been shot. According to WHP, he stated on many occasions to both law enforcement and medical professionals, “I did not shoot myself.”
According to reports, the forensic evidence showed that the shot was fired from around one foot away from McCoy’s head. According to the allegations, McKnight had gunshot residue on her hand, and the judge was in possession of the pistol that was used in the shooting investigation.
In accordance with reports, McCoy was discharged from the hospital on February 11th, 2024.
It was stated by the Associated Press that in 2023, the Court of Judicial Discipline removed McKnight from her position on the bench without pay due to the multiple claims of wrongdoing that were brought against her. According to one of the findings, McKnight allegedly instructed her staff to disregard an allegation that was made against her by another lady. This woman asserted that McKnight owed her $2,100 related to a debt that McKnight refused to repay.
In 2019, McKnight shot her husband, who she had been estranged from, in the chest. On the other hand, not a single charge was brought against her, and she was exonerated of any wrongdoing after the investigators concluded that she had acted in self-defense.
