Oakland County Woman Who Killed Grandson Loses Appeal Bid
WEST BLOOMFIELD TWP. (WWJ/AP) - A 77-year-old Oakland County woman who killed her grandson has failed to persuade the Michigan Supreme Court to take an appeal.
The court rejected Sandra Layne's request in an order released Friday.
She is serving a 22-year prison sentence for second-degree murder for shooting Jonathan Hoffman in 2012. The 17-year-old was living with his grandparents in West Bloomfield Township so he could complete his last year of high school. He had a history of drug use and had tested positive for so-called synthetic marijuana on the day of the shooting.
Layne said she felt overwhelmed by the teen's troubles. She claimed her grandson feared flunking probation and demanded money and a car to leave the area. She said shot him out of fear during a physical altercation. Investigators said Layne fired 10 shots, striking Hoffman six times.
Jurors were troubled that Layne had left Hoffman bleeding but returned with more gunfire. A recording of a 911 call shows him being shot again while pleading for help – a critical piece of evidence that jurors played over and over during deliberations.
Layne said she bought a gun in April 2012 because she feared that her grandson's friends were dangerous and might steal her valuables. She told jurors she was "desperate and didn't know what to do." She practiced shooting at a range weeks before she killed her grandson.
Layne repeatedly blamed Hoffman's parents for not taking him back to Arizona and said her grandson's drug use made him unmanageable for an elderly woman.
At the end of trial, Hoffman's parents said the verdict was "vindication" for their son, whose actions and lifestyle were called into question through Layne's testimony.
In a letter read by assistant prosecutor Paul Walton, Hoffman's father said Layne "put on her war paint and came in gunning for my boy." The teen's mother, Layne's daughter, Jennifer Hoffman, urged the judge to show no mercy — calling her mother a narcissist.
"She showed no mercy when she planned, stalked and murdered my son in his bedroom. Sandra Layne is pure evil and if given the opportunity would surely kill again," she said. "She tormented him for 12 minutes before he was finally killed."
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