Magisterial District Judge Sonya M. McKnight being escorted by police (PennLive.com screenshot) and mug shot (Dauphin County Central Booking)
A 58-year-old former magistrate judge from Pennsylvania is facing a lengthy prison sentence for attempting to murder her boyfriend by shooting him in the head while he slept in his house. Sonya M. McKnight was found guilty by a jury in Lancaster County of charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault for the attack that resulted in Michael McCoy losing sight in one eye permanently.
The jury reached the verdict after listening to two days of evidence before concluding that McKnight was responsible for the crime. McKnight had previously shot her separated husband in the groin, but that incident was deemed an act of self-defense.
The shooting occurred in the early hours of Saturday, February 10, 2024, at McCoy’s residence on Saddle Ridge Drive in Dauphin County, according to a press release from the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office.
“McKnight shot the victim in the head while the victim was sleeping in bed,” prosecutors wrote in the release. “The bullet entered the right side of the victim’s face, traversed through his head in a straight line behind and slightly below his eyes and exited the left side of his face. The victim survived the gunshot wound but is blind in one eye as a result.”
While the shooting took place in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, the Cumberland County DA’s Office assumed jurisdiction of the investigation at the request of Dauphin County DA Fran Chardo. Chardo explained that his office had a conflict of interest and could not prosecute the case because McKnight was a magisterial district judge in the county.
Chardo had initially requested that the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office take jurisdiction over the case, but the AG’s office also said it had a conflict of interest in prosecuting McKnight.
Court documents obtained by Harrisburg CBS affiliate WHP-TV provided additional details about the alleged shooting.
According to the report, McKnight and McCoy had been dating for about a year. McKnight had already moved into McCoy’s home when, on Feb. 4, McCoy decided to end their relationship. Despite asking McKnight several times to leave his home, she reportedly refused.
Also, on Feb. 4, McCoy reportedly removed the key to his home from McKnight’s key ring even though most of her clothing and personal items were in the house.
When McCoy awoke the following morning, McKnight was gone, WHP reported. However, when he returned from work, McKnight had returned, telling him she had let herself in using the spare key.
The next few days were uneventful until McCoy went out to dinner at a restaurant on the evening of Feb. 9. He reportedly told police that he believed McKnight was following him, a suspicion police were allegedly able to confirm.
When he arrived home, McKnight was sleeping on the couch, and McCoy told her he planned to call her mother to assist him in getting her to leave, The Associated Press reported.
“Michael McCoy stated that it was like she finally understood that it was over,” police wrote in a probable cause affidavit.
McCoy said he went to sleep at about 11 p.m. and woke up shortly before 1 a.m. with “massive head pain” and began screaming because he couldn’t see, per the AP.
McKnight reportedly called 911 from McCoy’s phone and said she needed an ambulance because her boyfriend could not see. When questioned by the dispatcher, McKnight “could not explain what happened and stated that she was sleeping and heard him screaming,” the affidavit states.
McCoy had been shot in the right temple, and the bullet exited his left temple. He repeatedly told police and medical personnel, “I did not shoot myself,” WHP reported.
Forensic evidence reportedly revealed the shot came from about a foot away from McCoy’s head. McKnight allegedly had gunshot residue on her hand, and the firearm used in the shooting was registered to the judge.
McCoy was reportedly released from the hospital on Feb. 11, 2024.
McKnight in 2023 was suspended without pay from her role on the bench by the Court of Judicial Discipline over numerous allegations of misconduct, the AP reported. Among the findings, McKnight reportedly directed her staff to ignore a claim against her from another woman who claimed McKnight owed her $2,100 from a loan McKnight refused to repay.
In 2019, McKnight shot her estranged husband in the groin. However, no charges were filed, and she was cleared of wrongdoing after investigators determined that she had acted in self-defense.
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