DETROIT — Thursday, a jury found a man not guilty of first-degree planned murder in the death of a Detroit synagogue leader. However, they couldn’t decide on a separate murder charge, which means that the case could go to trial again.
The jury deliberated for five days, but this week, one member was excused and an alternate was put in their place.
Michael Jackson-Bolanos was charged with stabbing Samantha Woll to death at her home in October of last year. He spoke in his defense and said he had nothing to do with what happened, but he did say that he touched the body when he found it outside in the middle of the night.
People thought right away that Woll’s death might have been an act of antisemitic revenge during the war between Israel and Hamas, but cops found no link.
Jackson-Bolanos was found not guilty of first-degree murder but guilty of lying to the cops. The jury couldn’t agree on a decision for felony murder or home invasion. Under Michigan law, felony murder is murder that happens during another crime.
Due to the mixed results, Jackson-Bolanos may have to go through another study.
Brian Brown, a defense lawyer, told the Detroit Free Press, “It’s kind of a small, partial victory, but it’s not the victory I was expecting.”
Judge Kym Worthy promised that she would “press on for justice” for Woll’s family. At a meeting on July 25, she said the next steps would be made public.
Woll, 40, was found outside her home, just east of downtown Detroit, with several stab wounds. She had just come back from a wedding in the fall. Police think she was beaten inside the house, but she managed to get outside before passing out in the middle of the night.
Most of the proof in the trial came from hints and guesses. Police said there were spots of Woll’s blood on Jackson-Bolanos’ jacket. There is a film of him walking around the area, but no proof that he was in her house.
The jury heard Jackson-Bolanos say that he was in the area looking for cars that were not locked. His lawyer asked him if he broke into Woll’s apartment and stabbed her. He said, “Absolutely not.”
Brown said in his closing case that Woll had been hit in the head and neck and that it was likely a “crime of passion” committed by someone she knew.
Brown said of Jackson-Bolanos, “This case is about the wrong person who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
A man who used to be Woll’s boyfriend was caught first. He called 911 in a panic and said he thought he might have killed Woll but couldn’t remember. He said those things because of a bad response to medicine. He wasn’t charged.
Woll was president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue and worked for U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin and the state’s attorney general, Dana Nessel, as a Democrat. Woll was a “beacon in her community,” according to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
