Woman, 74, Charged in Grandson's Shooting Death; Faces Life in Jail
A 74-year-old Michigan woman has been charged with murder after allegedly shooting her grandson to death as he cried for help.
Sandra Layne shot Jonathan Hoffman at least eight times before he died. Consequently, she has been charged with open murder as well as carrying a firearm in commission of a felony, according to ABC News.
Hoffman, who was staying with his grandma in her Maple West Villas Complex home, frantically called 911 after being shot with a .40 caliber semi-automatic gun and insisted that he was going to die.
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Dispatchers heard Hoffman's screams as he explained what had occurred but paramedics failed to revive the high school senior and he was pronounced dead 30 minutes after being taken to Botsford Hospital.
A preliminary medical report found two bullets in Hoffman's body and determined that he had eight entry or exit wounds.
Layne, who was still carrying the deadly weapon upon being approached by police, claimed that she shot her grandson because he was smoking synthetic pot and ultimately feared that he was going to kill her.
Lt. Tim Diamond of the West Bloomfield Police Department said that this particular case was unusual.
"The circumstances are shocking and tragic. We've had husbands and wives killing each other but this is the first we've heard of a grandmother shooting a grandson," Diamond told ABC News.
Although Layne and Hoffman had a history of domestic violence, Diamond confirmed that Layne has no prior record and police are unable to determine why she killed her grandson.
Layne's open murder charge allows for a jury to determine whether a first- or second-degree charge applies to her case after hearing all of the evidence.
She is currently being held in custody without bond and faces a maximum sentence of life behind bars.
