Grandma Convicted of Killing Grandson, Expected to Serve 14 Years Minimum for Teenage Murder [VIDEO]
A grandmother was found guilty of second-degree murder Tuesday for the death of her teenage grandson, as the boy's mother smiled inside the courtroom when the conviction was read.
Jennifer Hoffman described her mother Sandra Layne, 75, as a "monster" while speaking outside of the Michigan courtroom where the latter was convicted of killing 17-year-old Jonathon Hoffman. The Layne's husband, Fred Layne, cried in court as his wife was cuffed and transported away by police officers.
Sandra was found guilty of shooting her grandson six times in the midst of an argument last spring as he tried calling 911 responders for help at her West Township residence. She is a mother of five, a retired school teacher, and is expected to serve a minimum of 14 years following two days of deliberations by a jury at the Pontiac court.
Hoffman had been living with his grandparents since 2011, which is when his own parents divorced and moved to Arizona.
On May 18, 2012, Sandra was said to have hit her late grandson with six out of ten rounds of ammunition within a six-minute span. During the two-week trial, the jury heard the recording of the victim's call to 911 and even more gunshots while he was on the phone.
"My grandma shot me. I'm going to die. Help. I got shot again," Hoffman told the operator as he began gasping for air.
Layne claimed she shot her grandson after he struck her during an argument over money and a plan to leave Michigan because of a failed drug test. The convicted killer told the court last week: "I wanted him to pay attention to me. He had to listen. It wasn't a conversation. It was arguing. Swearing."
After the verdict was announced, Hoffman spoke to the Detroit Free Press and said she's happy her mother had been found guilty of the crime.
"I know my son is in heaven and that is a place she'll never see," she said.