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<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-f5c199a64c221e1f4848d4ea912657f2" style="color:#291c1c;font-size:14px"><strong>Pennsylvania magistrate judge Sonya McKnight was convicted of attempted homicide and aggravated assault charges on Wednesday </strong></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-9b9c55a608a72f75a17fc3f55fe1d9c7" style="color:#291c1c;font-size:14px"><strong>McKnight who has been a judge in Dauphin County since 2016, is accused of shooting and wounding her ex-boyfriend in the head as he slept in Feb. 2024 </strong></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-eb3572fc30d044d5c885e63746b26c3c" style="color:#291c1c;font-size:14px"><strong>Facing up to 60 years in prison at sentencing scheduled for May 28, she was taken away in handcuffs after trial judge rejected defense request that she be released </strong></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ae94486494b96abaae77367e95a9ee08" style="color:#291c1c;font-size:14px"><strong>Shooting occurred on the night of February 9, 2024 at the home of her ex-boyfriend, Michael McCoy</strong></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-be49c05780486836d3d371c7179133c3" style="color:#291c1c;font-size:14px"><strong>McKnight had lived there, but McCoy repeatedly asked her to leave when their relationship ended </strong></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-20aad1a08f42ebb6aae7765b913ff18a" style="color:#291c1c;font-size:14px"><strong>Back in 2019, she shot her estranged husband after inviting him over to help her move furniture &#8211; prosecutors didn&#8217;t charge <strong>McKnight</strong>, citing self-defense</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Sonya-McKnight-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-477594" style="width:837px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Suspended Dauphin County Judge Sonya McKnight [photo], was convicted Wednesday of attempted homicide and aggravated assault charges for shooting her boyfriend in the eye while he slept in his home on Feb. 10, 2024</strong></p>



<p>A magistrate judge in Pennsylvania accused of shooting and wounding her ex-boyfriend, Michael McCoy, in the head as he slept, was convicted Wednesday of attempted homicide and aggravated assault charges.<br>Sonya McKnight was taken away in handcuffs after the trial judge rejected a defense request that she be released. She faces up to 60 years in prison when she&#8217;s sentenced May 28.<br>The <a href="https://local21news.com/news/local/day-2-trial-for-suspended-dauphin-county-judge-charged-with-attempted-murder-sonya-mcknight-dauphin-county-pa-michael-mccoy-shooting-boyfriend-pennsylvania-pa">shooting</a> occurred on February 10, 2024 at the McCoy&#8217;s home in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania after McCoy tried to end their one-year relationship. At the time McKnight lived there, but as heir relationship ended, McCoy repeatedly asked her to leave his home.<br>McCoy testified that the last thing he heard McKnight say to him before the shooting was, &#8220;oh, so you&#8217;re serious,&#8221; in regards to his pleas for McKnight to move out.<br>In his testimony, McCoy said that Saturday morning he woke up with an excruciating pain:“I thought I was having a brain aneurysm,&#8221; he said.<br>&#8220;I thought my brain was trying to get out of my head.”<br>McCoy said it wasn’t until he was being checked by EMS that he realized what had happened.<br>“I’m in total disbelief,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I’ve been told there’s a bullet hole in the side of your head.”</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Sonya-McKnight-arrest-3.png" alt="" class="wp-image-477596"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>McKnight was a jealous partner who &#8220;didn&#8217;t like&#8221; that she had been asked to leave, prosecutors alleged. Following her arrest McKnight is seen leaving the Susquehanna Twp. police dept. on February 15, 2024 ; </strong></p>



<p>Prosecutors argued at trial that McKnight was a jealous partner who &#8220;didn&#8217;t like&#8221; that she had been asked to leave, but her attorney said the ex-boyfriend couldn&#8217;t identify the shooter. McCoy testified that he couldn&#8217;t see after the shooting, but that McKnight was the only other person in the home at the time.<br>&#8220;I thought I was having a brain aneurysm,&#8221; McCoy testified.<br>The station reported that several other witnesses testified, including Dr. Steven Allen, who treated McCoy&#8217;s gunshot wound. Allen testified that if the bullet had a different trajectory by a matter of centimeters, there would have been a very different outcome.<br>Prosecutors said McKnight intended for McCoy&#8217;s demise to look like suicide, countering defense argument that the injured man could not say who shot him, highlighting how McCoy had the highest amount of gunshot residue on his hands in contrast to the defendant who barely had any on her hands. Prosecutors responded that of course, McCoy had gunshot residue on him, being the target of a gunshot, whereas McKnight washed her hands twice and still had gunshot residue on her. <br>The forensics team testified that McKnight&#8217;s pajama shorts, one sock and part of her hand tested positive for residue, while her pajama shirt, which she reportedly dropped in the toilet after the shooting, and the other sock were inconclusive. <br>A witness had testified that McKnight washed her hands while McCoy was being treated by EMS, which the forensic expert confirmed can remove gunshot residue.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Sonya-McKnight-7.png" alt="" class="wp-image-477619" style="width:839px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Sonya McKnight was first elected judge in Dauphin County since 2016.Three years later, in 2019, she shot her estranged husband after inviting him over to help her move furniture. Prosecutors didn&#8217;t charge McKnight, citing self-defense</strong></p>



<p>An acquittal was called by defense, but was denied. Then the jury, comprised of Delaware County residents who were bused to Harrisburg for the trial, deliberated for two hours before convicting McKnight on both counts.<br>Sonya McKnight, elected a judge in Dauphin County since 2016, had skirted the law in the past.<br>She was suspended without pay in mid-November 2023, by the Court of Judicial Discipline, which handles misconduct allegations against judges. <br>In that case, the Judicial Conduct Board, which investigates and charges misconduct cases against Pennsylvania judges, alleged in a September 2023 filing that McKnight violated judicial probation from a previous misconduct case centered on her actions regarding a 2020 traffic stop involving her son. She was acquitted of criminal charges in that matter.<br>Going back further, McKnight shot her estranged husband in 2019, after inviting him over to help her move furniture. However, prosecutors didn&#8217;t charge her citing self-defense.<br>Since the shooting, McCoy said he has already undergone two surgeries for the injuries he received. At trial an ophthalmologist said McCoy would need to see a specialist for the rest of his life to ensure that he does not lose his vision. <br>McKnight has remained suspended as a judge after her arrest was taken to the Dauphin County Prison following the verdict. Her bail was raised to $3 million.</p>



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Pennsylvania judge faces 60 years in prison for attempted homicide – Sonya McKnight is convicted for shooting ex-boyfriend as he slept when he ended their relationship
