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Layne sentenced to 20-40 years
for murdering her grandson.

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LIEN11117

14 April 25 • 2013

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LIMITED TIME OF

Sandra Layne at
sentencing April 18

Ronelle Grier

Contributing Writer

T

he dramatic murder trial that
drew international attention
culminated in a 20- to 40-year
jail sentence for Sandra Layne, 75, who
shot and killed her teenage grand-
son, Jonathan Hoffman, in her West
Bloomfield condominium last May.
Layne was found guilty of second-
degree murder after a two-week jury
trial that included more than 25 wit-
nesses and 250 exhibits. Her attorney,
Jerome Sabbota, claimed Layne shot
her grandson in self-defense when the
two were arguing after Hoffman tested
positive for K2 (a synthetic cannabis)
in a court-mandated drug test earlier
that day.
Oakland County Chief Assistant
Prosecutor Paul Walton argued Layne
purposefully and intentionally killed
her grandson, continuing to shoot
while Hoffman was on the phone with a
911 dispatcher, begging for help. Jurors
told attorneys after the trial that the
911 tape played a major part in their
decision. The tape begins with Hoffman
saying he was shot by his grandmother,
then, after a two minute and 45-second
pause, gunfire is heard as he screams
that he has been shot again.
Layne fired a total of 10 shots, six
of which hit and wounded Hoffman,
in the early evening hours of May 18,
2012, using a Glock 17 semi-automatic
handgun she had purchased three
weeks prior to the shooting.
Hoffman, 17, had been invited by
his grandmother to live with her and
her husband, Fred Layne, while fin-
ishing his senior year at Farmington

Central High School. His parents,
Michael and Jennifer Hoffman, were
in Arizona caring for their daughter,
Jessie, who was diagnosed with a brain
tumor shortly after the family arrived.
Sentencing took place April 18, in
the courtroom of Oakland County
Circuit Court Judge Denise Langford
Morris, who presided over the trial.

Leniency Requested
Sabbota asked the judge to go beneath
the recommended sentencing guide-
lines and sentence Layne to three years
in jail because of her age and the fact
that she does not pose a threat to the
community.
"Three years is a long time when
you're 75," he said.
Walton asked the judge to uphold
the recommendation of the probation
report, which was 20 to 40 years for
second-degree murder, with an addi-
tional mandatory two-year sentence
for the felony firearm charge.
"Show her the same mercy she
showed Jonathan Hoffman:' said
Walton, who described Layne's actions
as "horrifically calculating"
Jennifer Hoffman read a statement
to the court describing the special
bond she had with her son, and the
shattering effect his death has had on
her and Jonathan's sister, Jessie.
" ... the hardest thing for me, as a
mother, is knowing that my son died in
terror. He did not die a peaceful death.
He died in terror at the hands of a per-
son he once loved and trusted:' she said.
Walton read a statement from
Jonathan's father, Michael Hoffman,
who remained in Arizona to care for
his daughter. His letter talked about

