A Pennsylvania judge accused of shooting her ex-boyfriend in the head while he slept may spend decades behind bars — as she was convicted of attempted homicide and aggravated assault charges Wednesday.
After two hours of deliberations, a jury convicted Sonya M. McKnight, a magisterial judge in Dauphin County, on both charges she faced — one count of attempted murder and one count of aggravated assault.
McKnight, 58, who has held the elected role since 2016, was taken away in handcuffs after the trial judge rejected a defense request that she be released.
She was taken outside the county for incarceration because she sent many defendants to Dauphin County Prison during her nine years on the bench, PennLive reported.
The shooting unfolded in February 2024 after McKnight’s then-boyfriend, Michael McCoy, 54, attempted to end their one-year relationship and asked her to move out of his home.
McKnight allegedly agreed to go — but later that evening, McCoy was awoken by a “massive head pain” and was blind. During the trial, he testified that he couldn’t see after the shooting but that McKnight was the only other person home at the time.
Police said that McKnight called 911 and that during the call she “could not explain what happened and stated that she was sleeping and heard him screaming.”
Emergency responders rushed McCoy to the hospital, where they found a gunshot wound to the right temple that exited his left temple.
Authorities say the extent of the damage left McCoy blind in his right eye.
A gun registered to McKnight was also found at the scene and she was found to have gunshot residue on her hands only an hour after the shooting. Both McCoy and McKnight told police they were the only ones home at the time of the shooting and McCoy told police he did not shoot himself.
McKnight had a previous altercation with her estranged husband, Enoch McKnight, in 2019 during which she shot him in the groin after asking him to help her move furniture.
The couple married in 2014 but had filed for divorce two years later. However, the divorce was still pending at the time of the shooting, which was ruled to be self-defense as the pair were in the midst of a domestic dispute.
For the most recent shooting, she faces up to 60 years in prison.
She is set to be sentenced on May 28.
With Post wires.
