Dauphin County Courthouse
The man who was shot while sleeping in his home last year, allegedly by his ex-girlfriend, a local judge, testified before a jury on Tuesday.
During the second day of the trial, Michael McCoy asserted that he didn’t shoot himself. Suspended Harrisburg magisterial district Judge Sonya McKnight is accused of attempting to murder McCoy as he slept in his Susquehanna Township home.
Later on Tuesday, the prosecution and defense made their final arguments to the jury, which is expected to deliberate and potentially reach a verdict tomorrow.
On Feb. 15, 2024, McKnight was charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault in connection with the shooting of McCoy, who was shot in the head.
On Monday the trial began in the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas before an out-of-county jury from Delaware County. The prosecution brought in over 20 witnesses over the course of the two days, including Susquehanna Township police officers, medical professionals, forensic scientists and neighbors.
McCoy, 55, took the stand on Tuesday, saying that he did not shoot himself, but that he cannot say who shot him on Feb. 10 because he was blind when he woke up and in excruciating pain. But he did say that, when he went to sleep that night, there was only one other person in his house—McKnight.
He also stated that, when asked by EMTs whether or not he would like them to perform life-saving measures if he stopped breathing, he said, “Please save me.” The responding EMTs also confirmed that during yesterday’s hearing.
“I never had a suicidal thought in my life,” McCoy said during his testimony.
McCoy is partially blind in one eye and had vision loss in the other as a result of the gunshot. The gun found at the scene is registered to McKnight.
McKnight on Tuesday opted not to take the stand and testify.
Her attorney, Cory Leshner, also made a motion for acquittal of the case. He claimed that the prosecution provided insufficient evidence that McKnight was the shooter, leaving two equally plausible possibilities—either McKnight shot McCoy or he shot himself. However, the judge denied the acquittal, stating that there could be enough evidence to convict.
In their closing arguments, both Leshner and the prosecutor, Cumberland County District Attorney Sean McCormack, discussed the gunshot residue collected from the scene of the crime—a topic that came up repeatedly over the two days of testimony.
On Monday, testimony revealed that a small amount of residue was found on McKnight’s hands and clothing and a much greater amount was found on McCoy’s hands.
Leshner said that the trace amounts on McKnight’s hands may have been transferred from McCoy’s when she helped lead him to the bathroom after he was shot.
Leshner showed captured bodycam footage of an interview with the lead detective on the case, Lee Tarasi, during which McCoy asked if gunshot residue was found on his hands. At that time, Tarasi said that she didn’t know yet, but didn’t believe there would be. Leshner said that, based on McCoy response in the video, he seemed relieved.
However, residue was found on McCoy’s hands, and Leshner emphasized to the jury that it was a significant amount. He suggested that the high amounts, especially on the backs of his hands, could be because he may have fired the gun.
A forensic scientist called as a witness during the trial said that residue comes out of the front of a gun when shot, as well as through other cracks and crevices in the firearm as a “plume” that is distributed onto surrounding surfaces.
The one and only witness that the defense called to the stand, an independent contractor who consults on shooting investigations, said that residue can come out of the area of the gun where the bullet shell is ejected and onto the hand holding the gun. However, he said that the majority of the residue goes toward the target that the gun is fired at.
McCormack, in his closing argument, pointed that out—that McCoy was the target of the shooting, meaning that, of course, he would have the majority of the gunshot residue on him. He also noted that McCoy had held his hands to his head after the shooting, which would have transferred residue to his hands.
Also, if McCoy had shot himself, as the defense suggested, McCormack questioned why McCoy had gunshot residue on the back of his left hand, as he would’ve been holding the gun with his right to aim at his right side of the face, not both hands.
McCormack also mentioned that McKnight was allowed by officers, after the shooting, to wash her hands after using the bathroom, which he said she shouldn’t have been allowed to do, but could explain the minimal amount of residue found on her hands. McKnight was also instructed to remove her clothing in the police station bathroom for testing. Tarasi said that McKnight told her she dropped her shirt in the toilet.
But in the end, McCormack said that the gunshot residue didn’t matter all that much.
“If you believe his testimony [McCoy’s] that he didn’t shoot himself, there were only two people in that house. That’s all the evidence you need,” he said.
He said that the circumstantial evidence, meaning indirect evidence based on inference to connect the dots, in this case was strong, and asked the jury to lean into common sense reasoning.
However, Leshner said that circumstantial evidence was not enough and that the prosecution did not prove that McKnight fired the gun. He repeatedly implored the jury to recognize that any hesitation that they have about the facts of the case is “reasonable doubt,” which should cause them to issue a not-guilty verdict.
Leshner said that the sole burden of proof in the case was on the prosecution, and they didn’t meet that burden. He also accused the detectives on the case of ignoring evidence, such as not testing McCoy’s clothing for gunshot residue and making mistakes, such as missing pieces of evidence during the initial collection at the crime scene and dropping a piece of evidence on the ground when transporting it.
McCormack, in his argument, also pointed out several actions of McKnight’s before and after the shooting that showed motive and demonstrated that she delayed assisting McCoy after he was shot.
Witnesses at the trial, including McCoy, testified that McKnight showed signs of jealousy and distrust in the relationship. McCoy said that he intended to end his relationship with McKnight and asked her to leave his home, where she had been residing, every day for a week. She continually ignored his requests, he said. On the night before the shooting, he repeated his request to which she responded, “Oh, you’re serious.”
McCormack also brought up the facts to the jury that, following the shooting, McCoy had to ask McKnight to call an ambulance, and that she led him to the further of two second-floor bathrooms in the house.
Ultimately, a guilty or not-guilty verdict hinges on the decision of the jury.
The court recessed the case shortly before 5 p.m. on Tuesday and will resume on Wednesday at 9 a.m. At that time, the judge will instruct the jury on its responsibility and then dismiss them for deliberation.
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