After being accused of shooting and injuring her boyfriend while he was asleep, a Pennsylvania magistrate judge has learned her fate. It all went down on February 10, 2024, when Sonya McKnight was at the home of Michael McCoy, her ex-boyfriend. Local news channel WHP-TV reported McKnight had lived there, but she was repeatedly asked by McCoy to move out when their relationship dissolved.
McCoy testified the last thing he heard McKnight tell him before she shot him was, “Oh, so you’re serious,” after he asked her to leave. McKnight was described as a jealous girlfriend who “didn’t like” McCoy’s requests to vacate by prosecutors after they had been dating for one year. McCoy, who was asleep for about an hour and woke up “with massive head pain,” admitted he couldn’t see after he was shot, and thought he “was having a brain aneurysm.” Police said in an affidavit McKnight even tried to convince McCoy, who is currently blind in one eye, had shot himself. He noted at the time that McKnight was the only other person in the home.
Now, over one year later, McKnight has been convicted of attempted homicide and aggravated assault. Per CBS News, the Delaware County jury, who were bused to Harrisburg for the trial, deliberated for only two hours before convicting McKnight on both counts she faced.
McKnight, who was an elected Dauphin County judge since 2016, was suspended without pay in November 2023 by the Court of Judicial Discipline. The ex-judge faces up to 60 years in prison. Her sentencing is set for May 28.
This wasn’t the first time McKnight was involved in a shooting. In 2019, according to the Associated Press, she shot her estranged husband after inviting him over to help her move furniture. She was ultimately not charged as prosecutors cited self-defense.