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I MA
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a Ima 1
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"
10 March 21 • 2013
Layne Murder Trial
Attorneys present very different
views of grandmother, grandson.
Ronelle Grier
Contributing Writer
T
he recorded voice of Jonathan
Hoffman begging a 911
operator for help after being
shot by his grandmother resounded
through the courtroom on Monday
during closing arguments in the
murder trial of Sandra Layne of West
Bloomfield, who was
arrested for shoot-
ing and killing her
17-year-old grand-
son on May 18 of last
0
year.
E
Defense attorney
E
Jerome Sabbota and
Paul Walton, chief
Sandra Layne
assistant prosecutor
for Oakland County,
depicted very differ-
ent versions of both
Hoffman and Layne
during the two-week
trial, which included
exhibits and testimo-
ny
from witnesses,
Jonathan
including
Layne.
Hoffman
Sabbota claims
Layne, 75, was a
devoted grandmother who shot her
grandson in self-defense because she
had grown increasingly afraid of him.
Hoffman, who was on probation for
a marijuana possession charge, had
tested positive for K-2 (synthetic mari-
juana) in a court-ordered drug screen-
ing on the day of the shooting.
Walton said Layne should be found
guilty of first-degree murder for firing
10 shots at her grandson using a Glock
17 9mm handgun she had purchased
three weeks earlier. Three of the shots
were fired while Hoffman was on the
phone with a 911 operator.
The jury began deliberations
Monday afternoon to decide whether
Layne will be acquitted or convicted of
first- or second-degree murder, or vol-
untary or involuntary manslaughter.
She is charged with open murder and
possession of a firearm in the commis-
sion of a felony. At press time, the jury
had not returned a verdict.
Sabbota asked the jury to look at
the situation through the eyes of a
frightened 74-year-old woman. He
described how Layne and her husband
had been called to Botsford Hospital
in Farmington Hills when Hoffman
overdosed on psilocybin mushrooms
two months before the shooting. He
reminded the jury that it was Layne
who drove Hoffman to and from
school every day and interacted with
his teachers when his schoolwork fell
behind.
"What did she gain? She killed the
child she was trying to save and pro-
tect:' said Sabbota. "She killed him
because she was afraid"
Layne testified that she and
Hoffman had been arguing in his
upstairs loft bedroom because he
wanted to leave town after the positive
drug test on May 18. He was afraid he
would be sent to jail for violating the
terms of his probation and had asked
Layne to give him money and the keys
to her car. She said she told her hus-
band, Fred, to go out and walk the dog
and not to return until she called him.
Then she got her gun from a drawer in
her bedroom and went upstairs to tell
Hoffman she was not going to honor
his request.
"I wanted him to hear me, pay atten-
tion to me. He had to listen:' she said.
"I thought, 'Something has to be done
to keep him here:"
Sabbota said his client was also
frightened because Hoffman's friends
often brought him home late at night
and came into the house, prompting
the Laynes to hide their valuables.
"Why take a loaded gun [upstairs]?
She was afraid of him:' Sabbota said.
Hoffman came to live with the
Laynes after his family moved to
Arizona in the summer of 2011. He
had originally made the move with
them, but returned after his younger
sister, Jessie, was diagnosed with a
brain tumor, requiring several hos-
pitalizations and an intensive thera-
peutic regimen. Because much of his
parents' time was taken up caring for
their daughter, Layne invited Hoffman
to stay with her so he could finish out
his senior year at Farmington Central
High School.
In his closing argument, Walton
presented a step-by-step account of
what took place on the day Hoffman
was killed. He said Layne had numer-
ous opportunities to take a different
course of action, including leaving the
house or calling the police. He pointed
out that Layne's glasses and jewelry
were intact and no signs of injury were
discovered during a subsequent exami-
nation at Henry Ford Hospital. Layne
had testified that Hoffman kicked her
Layne Trial on page 21