Share and Follow
Inset: Randall Grinwis (Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The area in Michigan where Grinwis and his girlfriend lived before he killed her two years ago (Google Maps).
An Ohio resident, aged 59, faces a lifetime behind bars after being convicted of murdering his long-time partner. Randall Grinwis used his forearm to choke his girlfriend, 63-year-old Donna Hyma, during a heated dispute concerning their living situation. He later confessed to authorities that he had “snapped” during the confrontation.
The Ottawa County jury, on Friday, delivered a guilty verdict for Grinwis on the charge of second-degree murder related to Hyma’s 2024 death. Additionally, he was found guilty of larceny, having stolen between $1,000 and $20,000 from Hyma’s brother in the aftermath of the crime, according to court documents.
On January 1, 2024, deputies from the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call for a welfare check at a residence on Patti Place, located in Zeeland Township. This area is roughly 165 miles northwest of Detroit, as reported by WXMI, the Grand Rapids Fox affiliate.
First responders arrived to discover Hyma unresponsive and she was declared dead at the scene. Although her death initially appeared natural, suspicions arose, especially as authorities could not locate Grinwis, who was quickly suspected. An autopsy later confirmed that her death was due to manual strangulation.
Hyma’s death was initially determined to be from natural causes but still considered suspicious. Authorities were unable to locate Grinwis, who was quickly identified as a possible person of interest. A subsequent autopsy revealed her cause of death was manual asphyxiation.
Investigators then learned Grinwis killed Hyma and stole several items from their home before fleeing to Las Vegas. Specifically, Grinwis swiped $1,800 in cash from Hyma’s brother, drove to Chicago, and then used the stolen funds to book a flight to Las Vegas, the Holland Sentinel reported.
Hyma’s brother, who lived with the couple, testified he had given his sister his bank card to withdraw the $1,800 for him and asked her to put it in a lockbox in his room. The brother was not staying in the home at the time of the murder due to a recent surgery.
Grinwis remained in Las Vegas for two weeks before he reportedly ran out of money, turned himself in, and confessed to killing Hyma on Jan. 15, 2024.
In the taped admission, Grinwis said he and Hyma got into an argument over their living arrangements while drinking heavily. At some point, Grinwis said Hyma was sitting on the couch when he approached her from behind, placed his forearm across her neck, and applied pressure until she stopped moving.
After failing to find a pulse, Grinwis packed a bag, took the lockbox money, and drove away from the home. While driving, Grinwis said he “felt guilty” and placed the 911 call requesting a welfare check before tossing his phone out the window.
A recording of the confession was played during trial, with jurors hearing Grinwis telling detectives how he just “snapped,” according to the Sentinel.
“She was saying some really crazy s— and I’m telling on myself right now and I snapped,” he said on the tape. “I don’t know how else to say it.”
He went on to say that he could not remember exactly what made him lose his temper.
“I don’t know what made me snap,” Grinwis reportedly said. “I honestly don’t. That’s what hurts the most for me.”
Grinwis faces a possible life sentence when he appears in court again for his sentencing hearing on March 30.