obituaries
Potential Unrealized
Ronelle Grier
Contributing Writer
hock and grief continue to
surround the tragic death of
17-year-old Jonathan Hoffman,
who died Friday evening, May 18, from
multiple gunshot wounds. Charged with
his murder is his maternal grandmother,
Sandra Layne, who is being held without
bond after her arraignment on Monday,
May 21, by Judge Marc Barron of the 48th
District Court.
Hoffman, a former student at Hillel
Day School, was a senior at Farmington
Central High School. Since last fall, the
teen had been living with his grandpar-
ents, Sandra and Fred Layne, in the Maple
Place Villas condominium complex in
West Bloomfield. His parents, Michael
Hoffman and Jennifer Hoffman, who
are divorced, were living in Arizona
with Jonathan's younger sister, Jessica
("Jessie").
Hoffman was described as bright,
funny, kind and caring by his many
friends and former classmates, who were
stunned by his sudden and violent death.
"Some of my funniest memories from
Hillel are with him': said Ryan Grosinger
of Farmington Hills.
According to Lt. Tim Diamond of the
West Bloomfield Police Department,
emergency dispatchers received calls from
a neighbor who heard gunshots and from
Hoffman himself, who said he had been
shot by his grandmother. A detective testi-
fying at Layne's arraignment said the 911
operator heard Hoffman screaming that
he had been shot again.
When police arrived, Layne came to
the door holding a semi-automatic gun
she had purchased a month earlier and
announced that she had murdered her
grandson. Hoffman was transported to
Botsford Hospital, where he was pro-
nounced dead at approximately 6 p.m.
Layne was immediately taken into
custody and sent to a local hospital for
observation before returning to the
West Bloomfield police station to await
arraignment.
At press time, the circumstances
leading up to the teen's death remain a
mystery. Both of Hoffman's parents, who
maintain an amicable relationship, said,
during an exclusive face-to-face interview
with the JN, they had no inkling there
were problems between their son and his
grandmother. They are struggling to cope
with their grief and disbelief in the midst
of ongoing press coverage and a flurry of
rumors and speculation.
Michael Hoffman, Jonathan's father,
said the reason his son was living with the
Laynes has been publicly misconstrued.
The original plan was for both Jonathan
and Jessie to move to Arizona with their
parents. Almost as soon as they arrived,
Jessie was diagnosed with a nonmalignant
brain tumor, which required a month-long
hospital stay, three surgeries and many
rehabilitation sessions. Her recovery was
consuming most of Michael and Jennifer's
time, and Jonathan was lonely for his
friends back home.
When Layne invited
Jonathan to live with
her while he complet-
ed his senior year, the
Hoffmans agreed.
Jennifer Hoffman
described Layne, her
mother, as a typical
"doting grandmother"
who had assured the
Hoffmans she would
take good care of
their son.
"Jennifer and I were
spending every day
in the hospital; it was
a full-time job': said
Jonathan Hoffman
Michael Hoffman. "I
was reluctant to be
apart from Jonathan, but we thought it
would be best for him to have the comfort
of his friends."
Jennifer Hoffman visited monthly and
spoke often with her mother and son,
including the day of the murder, but nei-
ther Layne nor Hoffman revealed there
were problems at home.
"I talked to my mother that morning
[May 18] and she talked about going
shopping and what to make for dinner':
said Jennifer Hoffman.
Both parents were mystified to learn
that West Bloomfield police had been
called to the Layne residence in March
during a dispute between Jonathan and
his grandmother. Diamond of the WBPD
described it as a typical family disagree-
ment and said no arrests were made.
"I was there every month, and neither
of them said a word about it," said Jennifer
Hoffman.
Michael Hoffman said his son had
experimented with drugs but was not
heavily involved, as some news reports
implied. According to his father, Hoffman
became ill after experimenting with some
mushrooms and called the police himself.
Afterward, he apologized to his parents
and posted his regrets on Twitter. Also,
Hoffman said his son received a Minor in
Possession (MIP) charge two months ago
and had been successfully carrying out
the terms of his probation.
"He admitted his mistake and said he
wanted to make a contribution to society':
said his mother.
Former classmate and close friend
Max Dashevsky of West Bloomfield said
Hoffman was "one of the smartest and
funniest kids" he knew.
"He cracked jokes 24/7, and he was
always helping others': said Dashevs
"He was like a brother to me. This really
hurts."
Former Hillel class-
mate Brianna Mark of
Farmington Hills, who
knew Hoffman since
kindergarten, saw him
the week before his death
and said he seemed fine.
"He was always
extremely happy; he was
just that kind of kid': she
said. "There's no way he
could have harmed any-
one; he was very sweet:'
Hoffman was known
for wearing white
T-shirts with grey
sweatpants, saying he
wanted to be known for
who he was and not for
what he wore.
"We called it 'the Jon way," said his
father. "He wore a hot dog costume to a
party where no one else was dressed up.
He liked to make people laugh."
Hoffman had been accepted to Eastern
Michigan University but had not decided
on his future plans. His family admired
his aptitude for technology and writing.
"He was brilliant with computers': said
Michael Hoffman's sister, Judy Metzger,
who lives in Farmington Hills. "We'd call
Jon whenever we had a problem, and he'd
fix it with one click."
Michael Hoffman said his son was a
very special young man on many levels.
He used his computer to do research
on nutrition and taught himself how to
improve his diet through probiotics and
supplements.
"He was like the tip of an iceberg': said
Michael Hoffman. "There was so much we
didn't know about him and are just now
coming to learn. We only saw the tip."
About 25 friends and classmates gath-
ered for a memorial service facilitated
by Rabbi Josh Bennett at Temple Israel
Monday evening. Metzger said the fam-
ily has received numerous calls from
Jonathan's friends, asking what they can
do to help.
"We didn't know he had so many
friends, how many people loved him': said
Obituaries
Jennifer Hoffman.
Hoffman attended North Farmington
High School for two years and then trans-
ferred to Farmington Central High School,
from which he was scheduled to graduate
in June. The school was closed on May
22 so students and staff members could
attend the funeral.
"We will miss Jonathan here at Central.
He was a good student who was very sup-
portive of his friends': said principal Pat
Karas. "It is a tragedy that no one can
make sense of."
Phyllis Krause, Hoffman's paternal
grandmother, is sad about the things
she will never be able to share with her
grandson.
"There was so much more we looked
forward to doing with him:' said Krause.
"We knew he had all kinds of potential."
Hoffman's sister, Jessie, wrote an essay
to be read at the funeral, highlighting
some of the special times the siblings
had shared. A favorite was the "Jessie
Dance;' which always brought laughter to
Hoffman and his friends.
"The bottom line is that Jon was the
kind of brother that every girl wishes for:'
she wrote. "I will miss him terribly."
Jonathan is survived by his parents,
Michael Hoffman and Jennifer Hoffman;
sister, Jessica (Jessie) Hoffman; grand-
parents, Phyllis Hoffman Krause and Dr.
Gerald Krause, Daniel Silvers and Susan
Chaffin, and the late Sanford Hoffman;
aunts and uncles, Judy and Marc Metzger,
Rhonda Hoffman, and Scott Silvers and
Linda Racey; and cousins, Samantha and
Emily Metzger.
The funeral was held Tuesday, May
22, at the Ira Kaufman Chapel, officiated
by Rabbi Joshua Bennett and Cantorial
Soloist Neil Michaels of Temple Israel.
Interment at Machpelah Cemetery.
Contributions honoring the memory of
Jonathan Hoffman may be made to a
charity of one's choice. ___ F ■
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Obituaries on page 126
May 24 • 2012
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