A Michigan jury has convicted 59-year-old Randall Grinwis of second-degree murder for strangling his 63-year-old girlfriend, Dopnna Hyma, during an argument over living arrangements on New Year's Day 2024. Grinwis also faces charges for stealing $1,800 from Hyma's brother after the killing. He confessed to the crime, stating that he 'snapped' during the incident.
On January 1, 2024, deputies from the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office responded to a 911 call for a welfare check at a home in the 200 block of Patti Place in Zeeland Township, Michigan, approximately 165 miles northwest of Detroit. There, they found Dopnna Hyma unresponsive; she was pronounced dead at the scene. Initial assessments suggested natural causes, but the case was deemed suspicious due to the inability to locate Grinwis, who was identified as a person of interest.
An autopsy later confirmed that Hyma died from manual asphyxiation. Investigators determined that Grinwis had strangled her with his forearm during an argument while the couple was drinking heavily. According to his confession, Hyma was sitting on the couch when he approached from behind and applied pressure to her neck until she stopped moving. After checking for a pulse and finding none, Grinwis packed a bag, took $1,800 in cash from a lockbox belonging to Hyma's brother—who lived with the couple but was recovering from surgery elsewhere—and fled.
Hyma's brother had given her his bank card to withdraw the money and place it in his room's lockbox. Grinwis drove to Chicago and used the funds to fly to Las Vegas, where he stayed for two weeks until he ran out of money. On January 15, 2024, he turned himself in and confessed.
In the recorded admission played during the trial, Grinwis explained the events: "She was saying some really crazy s— and I'm telling on myself right now and I snapped. I don't know how else to say it." He added, "I don't know what made me snap. I honestly don't. That's what hurts the most for me." While driving away, he felt guilty and made the 911 call for the welfare check before discarding his phone.
A jury in Ottawa County convicted Grinwis of second-degree murder and larceny between $1,000 and $20,000 on a Friday, with sentencing scheduled for March 30. He faces a possible life sentence.