Suspended PA Judge Accused Of Shooting Ex-Boyfriend As He Slept

HARRISBURG, PA — A suspended Harrisburg judge is facing charges including attempted murder after being accused of shooting her ex-boyfriend in the face, according to the Cumberland County District Attorney's Office and media reports.

Prosecutors say Sonya M. McKnight — who was a Magisterial District Judge in Dauphin County — is accused of entering the victim's Saddle Ridge Drivehome very early Saturday morning and shooting him as he slept in his bed.

The bullet entered the right side of the victim’s face before passing through his head behind his eyes and exiting the left side of his face, leaving him blind in one eye, prosecutors wrote in a news release.

The district attorney's office did not state the victim's relationship to McKnight, though the victim — a 54-year-old man — wrote in a petition for a protection-for-abuse order Thursday that she was his former girlfriend with whom he had broken up six days earlier, PennLive reported.

Cumberland County District Attorney Seán M. McCormack approved a criminal complaint Thursday charging McKnight with criminal attempted murder and aggravated assault, officials said.

McKnight was taken into custody Thursday afternoon at the Susquehanna Police Department, according to officials.

She was arraigned before a judge with bail set at $300,000 and is being processed at the Dauphin County Central Booking Center.

A preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 26.