HARRISBURG, Pa. — Note: The video is from February 15.
In a court filing last week, defense attorneys for suspended Dauphin County Judge Sonya McKnight called for the attempted murder and aggravated assault charges filed against her earlier this year to be dismissed, claiming prosecutors lack evidence that she was the one who committed the crimes she's charged with.
McKnight was charged in February with shooting her boyfriend, Michael McCoy, while he slept in his Susquehanna Township home on Feb. 10. McCoy survived the shooting, but was left blind in one eye after being shot in the face.
McKnight was arrested and charged on Feb. 15.
The Cumberland County District Attorney's Office assumed jurisdiction of the investigation at the request of Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo because McKnight worked as a Magisterial District Judge in Dauphin County at the time of the alleged incident.
In court documents filed last week, McKnight's attorneys claimed, "The Commonwealth is missing proof of the most essential element of the crime; that the accused is the one that committed it."
According to charging documents filed by investigators in February, McCoy and McKnight had been living together for about a year at the time of the alleged shooting. McCoy allegedly wanted to end the relationship and asked McKnight multiple times to leave the house, but she either refused or would be found inside the home when McCoy returned from work.
On Feb. 5, McCoy again returned home to find McKnight inside. When he confronted McKnight, asking her why she was there and how she got in, court documents state that McKnight calmly replied that she took the spare keys.
According to the criminal complaint, on Feb. 9, McCoy returned home from work to find McKnight sitting on his couch in pajamas and a robe. The victim says he told McKnight he was going out, leading her to question him as to where he was going.
Court documents state that the victim says he refused to tell her where he was going, but eventually, McKnight texted him to get her a salad "from up there." It was at this point that the victim realized she had driven by Crawdaddy's, a Harrisburg restaurant, to see if he was there.
When McCoy returned home, McKnight was found to have changed into regular clothes, furthering the victim's belief she had driven by the restaurant to check on his whereabouts, charging documents said.
Later that evening, the victim claimed McKnight accosted him, asking if they are going to talk.
According to the criminal complaint, McCoy intended on calling McKnight's mother to help him remove the suspended judge. At this point, McKnight responded, "Oh, you're serious?"
Court documents state that McCoy believed that McKnight finally understood the relationship was over, and he went upstairs and fell asleep.
At around 12:45 a.m. on Feb. 10, the victim said he woke up with a massive head pain and that he could not see. He told authorities that he had never heard any noise prior to the pain, and that McKnight kept asking the victim what he had done to himself.
Police claimed in charging documents that McKnight assisted the victim in what is described to be a delayed manner, including avoiding the nearest bathroom and delaying when the victim asked her to call 911.
Upon arrival of EMS, officials determined the victim had suffered a single gunshot wound that entered his head in the area of his right temple, and exited near the left temple. According to the court documents, the victim had no idea that this had happened to him, and his reaction was described as pure shock.
When an officer asked the victim if he had shot himself, he shockingly exclaimed, "No!" charging documents state.
Authorities interviewed McKnight about what had occurred, and described her responses as "deceptive" in the criminal complaint.
But in last week's filing, McKnight's defense argued that prosecutors could not prove that McKnight is the one who pulled trigger, describing the prosecution's case against her as "circumstantial."
Her attorneys cited McCoy's testimony, where he only said he did not shoot himself, and did not know who shot him.
The prosecution has not met its "prima facie" burden, meaning they don't have enough evidence to prove McKnight is responsible for the shooting.
The prosecution previously claimed to have other evidence pointing to McKnight's guilt, including the fact she was the only other person in McCoy's home when he was shot. McKnight also had a positive gunshot residue test, and that she is the registered owner of the handgun used in the shooting, prosecutors claim.
A hearing date for the latest filing from McKnight's defense team has not yet been set, according to court records.
McKnight was suspended in Nov. 2023 for multiple allegations of misconduct.