A long-term relationship ended in a fatal argument that prosecutors say unfolded over seconds, not a single “snap.”
Zeeland Township, MI – A Michigan man convicted of killing his girlfriend of two decades during a New Year’s Day argument has been sentenced to 32 1/2 to 90 years in prison, closing a case that centered on whether the violence was impulsive or sustained. The sentence was handed down Monday after a jury found Randall Alan Grinwis, 59, guilty of second-degree murder in the death of 63-year-old Donna Hyma.
Ottawa County Circuit Judge Karen Miedema imposed the sentence following the earlier verdict, which also included a conviction for felony larceny after jurors determined Grinwis stole $1,800 from Hyma’s brother shortly after the killing.
Family impact and courtroom testimony
During the sentencing hearing, Hyma’s family described the killing as a breach of trust by someone who had been part of their lives for years. “I trusted him with her life, and now I have to live with that for the rest of mine,” Hyma’s daughter, Lisa Vanderyacht, told the court. “I lost two people that day — my mother and the man I thought I knew for 20 years,” she said, adding, “We trusted him.”
Vanderyacht also addressed Grinwis’ description of the killing. “Nothing about that day was different,” she said. “He just snapped.”
Prosecutors disputed that characterization, arguing the killing involved sustained force. “This was not a snap,” a prosecutor said. “He had 40 seconds to change his mind, but he continued pressing down on her, and that cannot be overlooked.”
Judge Miedema, in delivering the sentence, called the case preventable. “This was an incident that could have been totally avoidable,” she said. “You had options … but you chose a very drastic and very evil option.”
Timeline of the killing and aftermath
The killing occurred on New Year’s Day 2024 inside the couple’s home in Zeeland Township, according to court records. The argument was over living arrangements. Hyma was later found unresponsive on a couch after a wellness check, and an autopsy determined she died from asphyxiation, ruling the death a homicide.
Prosecutors said Grinwis used his forearm to press against Hyma’s throat. Court documents state he checked for a pulse and breathing afterward.
After the killing, Grinwis fled Michigan, traveling through several Midwestern states before flying to Las Vegas, where he stayed in a hotel and gambled. Authorities said he eventually turned himself in, though prosecutors argued he did so only after running out of money and indicated he would have continued fleeing if he had the means.
A recorded confession was played for jurors at trial. “She was saying some really crazy s— and I’m telling on myself right now and I snapped,” Grinwis said on the tape. “I don’t know how else to say it.” He also told investigators, “I don’t know what made me snap. I honestly don’t. That’s what hurts the most for me.”
Grinwis declined to make a statement before sentencing.
