A Michigan man who was convicted last month of brutally murdering his girlfriend has been sentenced. Following his jury trial, 59-year-old Randall Grinwis was found guilty of second-degree homicide and larceny of $1,000-$20,000 and sentenced to more than three decades in prison. 

Murder of Donna Hyma

On January 1, 2024, at approximately 10:30 p.m., 63-year-old Donna Hyma was found deceased in the home she and Grinwis shared. It was reported that police were responding to a wellness check call on New Year’s Day. Investigators deemed that Grinwis made the call.

Responding officials reported the front door was locked, and upon entering, they found a seemingly lifeless female. They attempted to save the victim’s life, but pronounced her dead at the scene when they were unsuccessful. 

Prosecutors argued during the trial that Grinwis killed his girlfriend for financial reasons and used his forearm to choke her to death. After the inexplicable act, Grinwis took off for Las Vegas with money he stole from the victim’s brother. 

Randall Grinwis Confesses

Grinwis’s defense attorney, Philip Sielski, stated his client was stricken with grief after murdering an innocent woman, so he turned himself in to the Las Vegas Police. At the time of his surrender, there was supposedly no arrest warrant out. The suspected murderer at the time confessed to Las Vegas police and detailed the events, according to court documents.

Grinwis named the victim, listed her address, and described how he killed her by pressing his forearm against her throat. He ensured she was no longer alive by checking her pulse and her breathing. An autopsy showed that Hyma died from asphyxiation, and her death was deemed a homicide, prompting police to begin investigating her murder.

The Ottawa County detectives obtained warrants and worked alongside the Las Vegas Police to find Grinwis and take him into custody. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police arrested the suspect on February 9, 2024, and extradited him weeks later to Ottawa County and arraigned him for the murder of his girlfriend.

“All the information that [Grinwis] provided was the glue for the timeline that the prosecution presented to the jury,” Sielski claimed before requesting his client be sentenced on the lower end of the court’s sentencing guidelines.

Victim Impact

Hyma’s daughter, Lisa Vanderyacht, read a victim impact statement following Grinwis’s conviction, and she described his behavior differently than he expressed in court. “He said, if he had won in Vegas, he would have kept going,” Vanderyacht said. “He didn’t stop because he was sorry; he stopped because he ran out of money. It doesn’t sound like a man with a guilty conscience; it sounds like a man with a hungry stomach.” 

“He had a perfectly fine house right across the street. But he wanted hers — and she wanted safety. Because of his actions, neither of them got what they wanted,” she added.

The victim, Donna Hyma, is remembered by her family as an amazing woman. They described her as a loving, independent, and generous person. 

Sentence For Brutal Murder

During the trial, it was revealed that Grinwis repeatedly insisted to the police officers that he simply “snapped,” but prosecutors argued that the evidence provided told a different story. One of the defense’s experts at trial confirmed the prosecution’s statements, stating, “He had 40 seconds to change his mind.” 

Judge Karen Miedema sentenced Grinwis to 32.5 to 90 years in prison on all charges. He has been granted time served, a total of 805 days. Grinwis did not react during the judge’s declaration, nor did he speak unless spoken to. He also declined to address the Court.