Family file million dollar wrongful death lawsuit against grandmother who killed her teenage grandson

  • Sandra Layne was convicted of second-degree murder for killing her 17-year-old grandson Jonathan Hoffman in May 2012
  • Layne was sentenced to 22 years in prison
  • $1m lawsuit against Layne and her husband was filed by a representative of Jonathan Hoffman's estate

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A wrongful death lawsuit seeking at least $1 million has been filed against a 75-year-old Detroit-area woman who was convicted of killing her 17-year-old grandson.

The lawsuit was filed recently in Oakland County Circuit Court against Sandra Layne and her husband Fred Layne, 86, by a representative of Jonathan Hoffman's estate.

Layne's attorney Jerome Sabbota told the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News that he's not surprised by the lawsuit. Sabbota notes that Layne's husband wasn't charged in the killing.

Jailed: Sandra Layne, 75, is led out of court after being sentenced to at least 22 years in prison for killing her grandson

Jailed: Sandra Layne, 75, is seen being led out of court after being sentenced to at least 22 years in prison in April 2013 for killing her grandson

Tears: Sandra Layne sobbing heavily during proceedings, as she did during this court appearance on March 13

Tears: Sandra Layne sobbing heavily during proceedings, as she did during this court appearance on March 13

Hoffman was shot six times, including twice in the back, in West Bloomfield Township in 2012.

Layne said she shot him out of fear during a physical altercation, but a jury rejected her claim of self-defense and convicted her of second-degree murder.

Layne was sentenced to at least 22 years in prison in April of this year and is currently in prison.

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Sandra Layne got a minimum sentence of 20 years for second-degree murder, along with a mandatory two-year sentence for using a gun to kill 17-year-old Jonathan Hoffman.

Prosecutors said there were no signs of Layne being injured by Hoffman. A recording of a 911 call shows him being shot again while pleading for help - a critical piece of evidence that jurors played over and over during deliberations in April, 2013.

Judge Denise Langford Morris zeroed in on it, too, wondering why Layne simply didn't call police if she felt helpless.

Devastated: The husband of Sandra Layne, 87-year-old Fred Layne openly wept as the verdict was read on Tuesday

Devastated: The husband of Sandra Layne, 87-year-old Fred Layne openly wept as the verdict was read in April - he was not charged

Grief: Jennifer Hoffman, right, mother of shooting victim Jonathan Hoffman, called her mother a 'monster' after she was convicted in March

Grief: Jennifer Hoffman, right, mother of shooting victim Jonathan Hoffman, called her mother a 'monster' after she was convicted in March

'Grandmothers are supposed to protect... Why did you keep shooting and how could you keep shooting?' Morris asked. 

'You didn't have to keep shooting. Those were hollow-pointed bullets designed for a devastating impact.'

Layne sobbed heavily during a long, rambling address to the judge, her belly chains and handcuffs sagging over orange jail clothes on her slight frame.

Tragic: Jonathan Hoffman, 17, was shot dead by his grandmother last spring

Tragic: Jonathan Hoffman, 17, was shot dead by his grandmother in the spring of 2012

'I'm sorry for what I did. I apologize to everyone I've hurt, everyone... Sorry is too small a word,' she said, pleading with Morris to not allow her to die in prison.

Layne's daughter, Jennifer Hoffman, urged the judge to show no mercy.

'She showed no mercy when she planned, stalked and murdered my son in his bedroom. Sandra Layne is pure evil and if given the opportunity would surely kill again,' Jennifer Hoffman said.

Hoffman's father did not attend the hearing because he was in Arizona with his 16-year-old daughter, Jessica, who was recovering from a tumor.

Michael Hoffman said the girl 'has a hole in her heart to match the hole in her head' since her brother's death.

In a letter read by the prosecutor, the father said Layne 'put on her war paint and came in gunning for my boy.'

He accused Layne of killing his son because he was ready to move on after high school and she would no longer be able to control him.

Hoffman was living with his grandmother during his last year of high school while his parents lived in Arizona where a daughter was being treated for a brain tumor.

He had a history of drug use and had tested positive for synthetic marijuana on the day of the shooting. Layne claimed he feared flunking probation and demanded money and a car to leave the area.

Sandra Layne looks back to family members after being sentenced to second-degree murder

Sandra Layne looks back to family members after being sentenced to second-degree murder

Prosecutors, however, said Hoffman was wearing just shorts and socks when he was killed and had made plans to see a friend that night, not flee.

Prosecutor Paul Walton, noting the minutes that went by before Layne shot the boy again, said he had never handled a homicide 'this cold, this long and this calculating.'

Layne blamed the parents for not taking Jonathan back to Arizona and said her grandson's drug use made him unmanageable for an elderly woman.

She accused Michael Hoffman of giving up on the boy and said she pleaded with the pair to return to Michigan when drugs landed him in the hospital.

'If I could go back, I never would have bought that gun,' Layne told the judge. 'I would have said to his parents it's their responsibility, help him, take him.'

Following the verdict, Ms Hoffman told the Detroit Free Press that she was happy that her mother had been found guilty.

She added: 'I know my son is in heaven and that is a place she’ll never see.'

Hoffman had been living with his grandparents since 2011 when his parents divorced and moved to Arizona.

The elderly woman's husband Fred Layne wept in court as his wife was shackled and taken away by officers.

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