In a shocking case of family violence, a 74-year-old grandmother shot her grandson at point blank range eight times, killing the teenager. INSIDE EDITION reports.
She looks like a sweet, harmless granny, but she's wearing handcuffs for a reason you may find hard to believe.
74-year-old Sandra Layne is accused of murdering her 17-year-old grandson by plugging him with eight bullets.
Jonathan Hoffman lived with his grandmother in a pleasant, gated community outside Detroit. Next-door neighbor Jerry Burger was tending to his hot tub when the shooting started.
Burger said, "I heard some popping sounds. Then I called next door and the young man answered and said, 'I've been shot by my grandmother.' I hung up and called 911."
Cops rushed to the scene. They say the grandmother answered the door holding a Glock handgun and told them she'd just "murdered her grandson."
Jerome Sabbota, the granny's lawyer, told INSIDE EDITION's Les Trent, "There was a horrific situation that resulted in her having to shoot her grandson."
Sabbota says she both loved and feared her grandson. He was recently busted for marijuana possession, and two months ago, cops visited the granny's home because of a domestic dispute with her grandson.
Trent asked, "Did Sandra feel in fear of her life?"
"Sure. She was concerned for her own safety because of the way her grandson had been acting," said Sabbota.
Sandra Layne's attorney says she told him she was so concerned about the way things were going with her grandson that she went to a gun shop to purchase that 9 millimeter Glock. She laid down $700 in cash for the gun, the bullets and the clip.
The granny even took some shooting lessons.
An employee at the gun shop told Trent, "She just wanted a gun for her home protection and personal protection."
Jonathan Hoffman died from his wounds. His best friends from school still can't believe what happened, and how he was shot eight times.
One of Hoffman's friends told Trent, "To me, it's pre-meditated murder. You bought a gun a month before, you got lessons for it, and you killed your own blood. Our best friend."
Trent told Sabbota, "Your client shot her grandson eight times."
"Ever been afraid? Really afraid? For your own life? When you begin to shoot, you shoot. Someone who shoots multiple times is not in control."
In court on Thursday, the granny smiled and nodded at her 84-year-old husband. She'll remain behind bars until her next court appearance in July.
Hoffman's father, prominent divorce attorney Michael Hoffman, had little to say about the tragedy as he left court.
So, a troubled teenager is dead, and his grandmother faces life behind bars.
