Former Pennsylvania Judge Sonya McKnight, who shot her boyfriend in the head after he broke up with her, leaving him permanently blind, will spend up to 30 years in prison. In April, she was found guilty of attempted homicide and aggravated assault for the 2024 incident.
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According to Fox 43, McKnight was sentenced to 13 and a half years to 30 years in prison on Wednesday, May 28, at Dauphin County Court before Senior Judge Howard Knisely. McKnight, as a result, has been removed as a magisterial district judge. Any time she spent in prison will count toward her sentence.
The Associated Press reports that McKnight continues to maintain her innocence. Her attorney confirmed that they will be appealing. As per Fox 43, McKnight has 10 days to file a post-sentence motion. She also has 30 days to appeal her sentence to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania
2024 Incident
According to the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office, the charges stem from a February 10, 2024, incident involving Sonya McKnight and her then-boyfriend, Michael McCoy. During the early morning, McKnight shot the victim in the head while he was sleeping in his bed.
“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 DA’s Office said at the time.
While McCoy survived, he was left permanently blind in one eye as a result.
As per the AP, prosecutors argued during McKnight’s trial that she was resentful after McCoy broke up with her. He then asked her to leave his house the day before the incident took place. McKnight “didn’t like” what McCoy asked, and then proceeded to shoot him hours later after refusing to leave the house.
McCoy wasn’t able to accurately identify the shooter, given that he couldn’t see at the time. However, he testified that McKnight was the only one at the house with him at the time.
One day after the incident, on February 15, 2024, Sonya McKnight was arrested and charged with criminal attempted murder and aggravated assault. Following a two-hour deliberation, a jury found McKnight guilty on April 9, 2025.