Murder or self-defense? Opposing pictures emerge grandmother's slaying trial

Pontiac — The trial of a 75-year-old West Bloomfield Township woman charged in the slaying of her teenage grandson opened Tuesday with dramatic recounting of his final minutes and the terror to which he allegedly subjected his grandmother for months.

But there was no disputing Sandra Layne, a retired school teacher charged with open murder in the May 2012 slaying of Jonathan Hoffman, 17, fired the fatal shots. Defense attorney Jerome Sabbota told jurors they will hear Layne testify what led to the shooting.

"She is no murderer … he was a troubled teen and she was in fear for her life," said Sabbota, who ticked off events that transformed his client into an accused killer.

"She was afraid because she had seen him tied up in the hospital," said Sabbota of one drug arrest and added Jonathan had also previously attacked his mother, Layne's daughter, during an argument police had to break up.

Then there was his escalating use of drugs: marijuana, mushrooms and K2 or Spice, a synthetic drug that had been linked to an April 2012 case involving another teen accused of attacking family members and beating his father to death with a baseball bat.

By Mike Martindale
From The Detroit News:

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