A 57-year-old Pennsylvania judge is behind bars after authorities say she shot her ex-boyfriend in the head while he was sleeping.
The incident happened on Saturday, Feb. 10, at a residence in Harrisburg, about 106 miles from Philadelphia. Dauphin County Magisterial District Judge Sonya M. McKnight is accused of striking the man in his right temple, resulting in him being blind in one eye, WGAL reported, citing police records. The bullet exited through his left temple.
It came after the ex-boyfriend broke up with McKnight and attempted to get her to move out several times. He informed McKnight that he would call her mother to help her remove her belongings, solidifying the end of the relationship.
Police noted that “at this point, Sonya McKnight responds, ‘Oh, You’re serious?” and realized “that it was over.” When he woke up, he described having “massive head pain” and struggling to see.
According to the report, after the victim was shot, he alleged that McKnight asked, “What did you do to yourself?” He later told police that he didn’t hurt himself.
McKnight is the one who called the police to the scene but couldn’t give a clear explanation of what occurred. She “could not explain what happened and stated that she was sleeping and heard him screaming,” officials said, per the news station.
The gun used in the incident was registered to McKnight, and a test determined that she had gun residue on her hands, NBC News reported. She was charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault. The ex-boyfriend was identified as Michael McCoy.
As the WGAL reported, McKnight claimed that she didn’t leave the home that night, but footage from neighbor’s doorbell cameras tells a different story. Cumberland County District Attorney Sean McCormack is overseeing the case.
According to PennLive.com, McKnight curbed charges connected to shooting her estranged husband in 2019. He was hit in the groin but ultimately survived his gunshot wounds.
“We found that Ms. McKnight acted in self-defense, which is why our office did not file charges,” the Attorney General’s Office reportedly said at the time.
In November, McKnight was also suspended after the Judicial Conduct Board claimed she violated judicial probation stemming from a previous case, the AP reported. It was based on her alleged misconduct when a son was involved in a traffic stop in 2020.
