He Tried to End Things with His Judge Girlfriend. She Shot Him in the Head as He Slept — and She Just Learned Her Fate

An ex-Pennsylvania judge has been sentenced to 13-and-a-half to 30 years in prison for shooting her ex-boyfriend in the head as he was sleeping. 

Sonya McKnight was convicted last month of attempted murder and aggravated assault by a jury, according to a news release from the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office.

McKnight was accused of shooting her ex-boyfriend Michael McCoy while he was sleeping in his home on Feb. 10, 2024, PEOPLE previously reported.

Prosecutors say that the bullet entered the right side of the victim’s face, traveled through his head in a straight line behind his eyes and exited the left side of his face. 

McCoy survived the gunshot wound but is blind in one eye as a result of the shooting, according to a statement from the district attorney’s office. 

McKnight was convicted last month on the charges and resigned her post as a magistrate judge in Pennsylvania. According to the AP, the judge on McKnight’s case told her she was “totally without remorse” for the shooting. 

The shooting occurred after McCoy tried to end their relationship and asked McKnight to leave, the outlet reported. At trial, prosecutors argued that she was a jealous partner who “didn’t like” that she was asked to leave. 

McCoy couldn’t identify the shooter and testified in court that he couldn’t see after the shooting but McKnight was the only other person at the home, according to the AP. The jury deliberated for two hours before finding McKnight guilty. 

McKnight also shot and wounded her estranged husband Enoch McKnight in 2019, but a district attorney’s office investigation found that she acted in self-defense and didn’t charge her with anything, according to a criminal complaint obtained by PEOPLE. 

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McKnight has continued to maintain her innocence and her attorney said an appeal is ongoing, the AP reported. 

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.