Judge who once shot husband in groin allegedly shot sleeping boyfriend in the head days after break-up

Magisterial District Judge Sonya M. McKnight being escorted by police (PennLive.com screenshot) and mug shot (Dauphin County Central Booking)

Magisterial District Judge Sonya M. McKnight being escorted by police (PennLive.com screenshot) and mug shot (Dauphin County Central Booking)

A 57-year-old magistrate judge in Pennsylvania is accused of trying to kill her boyfriend, allegedly shooting him in the face while he was asleep last weekend.

Magisterial District Judge Sonya M. McKnight was taken into custody on Friday afternoon and charged with one count of criminal attempted murder and one count of aggravated assault in the alleged attack on 54-year-old Michael McCoy, authorities announced.

According to a news release from the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office, the charges stem from an incident in the early morning of Feb. 10 at McCoy’s home in the 200 block of Saddle Ridge Drive in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

“It is alleged that McKnight shot the victim in the head while the victim was sleeping in bed,” prosecutors wrote. “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 victim survived the gunshot wound but is blind in one eye as a result.”

While the shooting took place in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, the Cumberland County DA’s Office assumed jurisdiction of the investigation at the request of Dauphin County DA Fran Chardo. Chardo explained that his office had a conflict of interest and could not prosecute the case because McKnight was a magisterial district judge in the county.

Chardo had initially requested that the state Attorney General’s Office take jurisdiction over the case, but the AG’s office also said it had a conflict of interest in prosecuting McKnight.

Footage posted online by The Patriot-News showed McKnight being transported from the Susquehanna Township police station to her first court appearance. She was escorted out of the station with her hands cuffed in front of her and her legs shackled.

Court documents obtained by Harrisburg CBS affiliate WHP-TV provided additional details about the alleged shooting.

According to the report, McKnight and McCoy had been dating for about a year. McKnight had already moved into McCoy’s home when, on Feb. 4, McCoy decided to end their relationship. Despite asking McKnight several times to leave his home, she reportedly refused.

Also, on Feb. 4, McCoy reportedly removed the key to his home from McKnight’s key ring even though most of her clothing and personal items were in the house.

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