Grandmother's Trial in Shooting Death of Grandson Set to Begin Monday

A trial is set to begin Monday for a West Bloomfield grandmother charged in the shooting death of her grandson.

Sandra Maxine Layne, 74, is charged with shooting her 17-year-old grandson to death last May in the West Bloomfield condominium they shared on Brookview Lane.

Layne appeared in court for the final pretrial hearing Thursday, according to the Oakland Press, where Oakland County Circuit Judge Denise Langford Morris expressed concerns over a jury pool of 40, from which 12 and a couple alternates will hear testimony.

Layne, who remains in jail on an open charge of murder and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony. If convicted, she faces life in prison. Defense attorney Jerome Sabbota has said the killing was self-defense.

West Bloomfield Patch reported that Layne gave herself up to police at her front door, where officers later found a handgun with blood on it. Layne herself was found with blood on her hands and clothing.

According to testimony, Layne was hysterical, screaming that she had just shot and killed her grandson, even after being placed in a police car.

Sabbota said that on the day of the incident, Layne had been at odds with her grandson, a student at Farmington Central High School who lived away from his parents in Arizona.

Read more:

• Grandmother of Slain West Bloomfield Teen Stands Mute
• UPDATE: Grandmother Charged with Murder in Grandson's Shooting