Case Goes To Jury For Grandma Accused In Grandson's Death
DETROIT (WWJ) - Jury deliberations are underway in the case of Sandra Layne, the West Bloomfield grandmother accused of shooting her grandson to death last year. Layne claims self-defense and says she was afraid of 17-year-old Jonathon Hoffman.
During closing arguments, Assistant Oakland County Prosecutor Paul Walton reminded the jury of the statements Layne made to officers the day she killed Hoffman.
"'I killed my grandson, I shot my grandson' - not - I was afraid, I had to do it I acted in self-defense, he came at me. 'I murdered, I shot, I killed' those are the first three statements she makes to law enforcement."
"She ignores the cell phone in her pocket, goes to the basement, ignores four phones there, walks around in the basement comes back upstairs and shots him again. That is murder - that is premeditated and that is deliberate - that is murder," said Walton.
In rebuttal, Jerome Sabbota spoke of the 'other' Hoffman the drug user, the student having trouble in school and breaking curfew, the young man who made his grandmother afraid and reiterated that she was acting in self-defense when she shot her grandson.
Layne's defense attorney, however, reiterated that Layne did indeed shoot Hoffman out of self-defense because he had attacked her.
