HARRISBURG, Pa. — A former Pennsylvania magistrate judge guilty of shooting and wounded her ex-boyfriend in the head while he was sleeping has been sentenced to 13 1/2 to 30 years in prison.
Sonya McKnight was convicted last month of attempted homicide and aggravated assault. She resigned from her position at Wednesday’s court, after the judge informed her she was “totally without remorse” for the shooting.
McKnight has maintained her innocence, and her counsel has stated that an appeal is pending.
The shooting took place in February 2024 at the boyfriend’s home. McKnight had resided there, but after their relationship ended, the man continually urged her to leave, according to authorities.
Prosecutors said at trial that McKnight was a jealous partner who “didn’t like” being forced to leave, but her lawyer claimed the ex-boyfriend couldn’t identify the shooter. The ex-boyfriend claimed that he couldn’t see after the shooting, but McKnight was the only other person in the house at the time.
After a two-hour deliberation, the jury found McKnight guilty on both counts.
McKnight, who was elected judge in Dauphin County in 2015, was suspended without pay in mid-November 2023 after the Court of Judicial Discipline, which handles misconduct allegations against judges, found she violated judicial probations from a previous case involving her son’s 2020 traffic stop. She was acquitted of criminal charges in that case.
According to local reports, she shot and wounded her estranged spouse in 2019. Prosecutors declined to charge her, citing self-defense.
