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Health & Fitness

Trial Talk: Testimony Ends, Attorneys Prepare for Closing Arguments in Sandra Layne Murder Trial

Defendant Sandra Layne took the stand again during the final day of testimony in the murder trial of the grandmother who shot and killed her teenage grandson.

Thursday was the last day of testimony in the Layne murder trial, and the defendant resumed the stand so Assistant Prosecutor Kelli Megyesi could continue the cross-examination she began the previous day.

Most of her questions required Layne to answer yes or no, or state that the question could not be answered with yes or no. She seemed less forthcoming than she was on Wednesday, pausing a long time before answering each question. She did not answer many of the questions, stating she could not provide a yes or no answer.

The prosecutor rephrased some of the questions several times before Layne provided her answers. This occurred even for questions she had answered the day before, such as "Did you go into your bedroom to get your gun?" and, "At some point, did you come downstairs after arguing with Jonathan in the loft?"

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Layne said she could not recall the sequence of events, or whether she took the gun out of its case before going upstairs to confront her grandson. The gun case was found on a chair in the basement, along with a leather satchel and a box of ammunition. Layne said she did not know how the gun got out of its case.

She claims she took the gun upstairs to calm Hoffman down. He was upset about having tested positive for K-2 and talked about leaving town to avoid being sent to jail for violating probation.

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"I've got to get him to settle down," she said. "I'm terrified. Something has to be done to keep him here."

She did testify that she went upstairs, gun in hand, and found Jonathan in the bathroom. She said he kicked her and hit her in the head, and then she started shooting. One of the bullets shattered the mirror, went through the outside wall, and knocked down a branch in the yard of neighbor Gary Berger, who went inside and called police.

"There was running and screaming"

Like the day before, Layne became very emotional when she talked about the shooting. She said she did not remember shooting Hoffman in the kitchen or the master bedroom, although there were bullet holes and large amounts of blood in both rooms.

"I don't know which way I went," she said. "There was running and screaming and hysterical behavior."

She said she went to the basement to hide from Hoffman, who she said had chased her downstairs after she shot him the loft bathroom. She could not explain why she did not call 9-1-1, despite the fact there were telephones throughout the house, including four in the basement. Layne was also carrying her cell phone in her pocket.

She said she went back upstairs because she thought she heard Hoffman talking and that she does not recall seeing the blood spattered throughout the house.

"I just wanted to get up there and see if he's all right," she said.

She said the two struggled for the gun when she returned to the loft, but she does not remember how many times she shot Hoffman or how badly he was hurt. She said she went downstairs because she thought he asked for water; however, there were no sounds from Hoffman during the final moments of the 9-1-1 tape.

She described feeling relieved when she came downstairs and saw the police cars in front of the house.

There was some discrepancy about whether Layne was injured before or during the shooting. She told police at the scene and also the emergency room nurse at Henry Ford Hospital, where she was taken after the shooting, that she was not hurt. She was also undressed and examined, and no signs of injury were found, including swelling or redness in the places she said Hoffman had hit or kicked her.

After she was released from the emergency room, she was taken to the West Bloomfield Police Department, where she asked for a cold juice box to put on her face. She testified she did so because her face was sore.

Closing arguments will be presented Monday at 9 a.m.

Next: The Jurors Question Layne About Her Testimony

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