Harrisburg, PA — A Pennsylvania magisterial judge has been convicted after a shocking and violent attempt to kill her boyfriend as he slept beside her.
Judge Sonya M. McKnight, formerly serving in Dauphin County, was found guilty of attempted murder and related charges after shooting her then-boyfriend, Michael McCoy, in the head last year while he slept in his home.
According to court testimony, the attack occurred shortly after McCoy told McKnight he wanted to end their relationship and asked her to move out. “Oh, so you’re serious,” McKnight reportedly said moments before McCoy lost consciousness from what he later described as “massive head pain.” When he awoke, he was blind.
McCoy was rushed to a hospital, where doctors discovered a gunshot wound that had entered through his right temple and exited through his left temple — missing vital areas by mere millimeters. Miraculously, he survived the near-fatal injury.
Prosecutors argued that McKnight acted out of rage and betrayal, attempting to execute McCoy in cold blood after being rejected. “This was an intentional act by someone who was trusted, and who abused that trust in the most horrific way imaginable,” the prosecution said in closing arguments.
Adding to the disturbing pattern, it was revealed during the trial that this was not the first time McKnight had shot a romantic partner. Years earlier, she shot her then-husband in the groin during a domestic altercation involving furniture. At the time, McKnight claimed self-defense and was not prosecuted.
Following the verdict, McKnight now faces up to 60 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for later this year.
The conviction brings an abrupt and disgraceful end to McKnight’s judicial career and raises renewed concerns about how past violent behavior by individuals in positions of authority is addressed by the justice system.
