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A man charged with killing Detroit synagogue leader Samantha Woll during a violent overnight encounter last October has been acquitted of first-degree murder, but the jury remained deadlocked on felony murder and home invasion charges.
Michael Jackson-Bolanos, 29, who took the stand in his own defense during his trial, maintained that he did not kill Woll, but testified that he did stumble upon her body and admitted that he did not notify police because he was scared, was found guilty of lying to police, which is punishable by up to two years in prison.
A pretrial to determine if charges are brought again has been set for July 25.
“First, I want to thank the jury for their time, dedication, and attention to this case,” Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement. “We were hopeful that a decision could be reached today, but we will press on for justice for the Wolls and will determine our next course of action at the pre-trial hearing.”
After closing arguments last week, the jury deliberated for 23 hours over the course of five days and told Wayne County Circuit Judge Margaret Van Houten that they were deadlocked three times before reaching a partial verdict on Thursday following the month-long trial that began on June 10.
Woll, 40, was found dead outside her townhouse, east of downtown Detroit, on October 21, 2023, hours after returning from a wedding. She had been stabbed multiple times. Investigators believe she was attacked inside the home but made it outside before collapsing.
Woll’s slaying immediately raised speculation about whether it was some type of antisemitic retaliation amid the Israel-Hamas conflict that began on October 7, though police quickly knocked down that theory.
During closing statements last week, Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Elsey implored jurors to reject Jackson-Bolanos’s testimony.
Jackson-Bolanos, who repeatedly denied any role in her slaying , told jurors that police have the wrong man, and that he was breaking into cars when he stumbled across Woll’s body. He said he checked for a pulse, but did not kill her.
“Don’t believe him,” Elsey told the jurors.
He called the defendant a liar, saying he changed his story multiple times, lied to police about seeing her body and touching her body, and fled the scene because he didn’t want to get caught.
“This individual never wanted to be found,” he said, adding that all the evidence points to Jackson-Bolanos, including Woll’s blood on his jacket and a pocket knife found in the jacket.
“Imagine the horror of Samantha’s last moments,” Elsey said. “He decided to subdue her and got the heck out of there.”
While the prosecution maintained Jackson-Bolanos murdered Woll during a home invasion, then fled because he didn’t want to get caught, Jackson-Bolano’s defense attorney Brian Brown argued this was not the case as he showed the jury a photo of evidence found at the scene including Woll’s purse, laptop, keys and cash.
“If this was a robbery, this would not have been in this picture. It would have been taken,” Brown said. “You don’t take someone’s purse? Money? Credit cards?”
Brown argued during closing arguments that police arrested the wrong man in Woll’s killing, which he claimed was personal as he acted out the brutal scene in the courtroom.
“This is a crime of passion,” Brown said. “We’re not saying he’s an angel. But he’s not a murderer.”
Brown told the court that he was aware of his client’s criminal history but drove home the point this was clearly not a robbery, it was a murder. But Jackson-Bolanos wasn’t responsible.
“We know he was hitting cars. We know he has a history. If he wanted to steal her car, the key is right there. Laptops. Credit cards. Money. Nothing is taken,” he said.
“This is not a robbery,” Brown added. “They did not come to rob her. They came to kill her.”
Brown asked the jury to consider Woll’s ex-boyfriend, who allegedly admitted to police during a panic attack that he killed Woll, but later recanted his story. He was never charged. Brown argued the ex was not thoroughly investigated by police and pointed out that he was granted immunity in exchange for his testimony at trial.
“It was not a thorough investigation,” Brown said. “Stones were left unturned. I think they deep-down have reservations about (the ex-boyfriend) recanting.”
“Michael Jackson-Bolanos had absolutely nothing to do with this murder … nor did he ever go inside of Samantha Woll’s house,” he said, adding that there is “not a shred of evidence.”
As for the blood on his client’s jacket, Brown said it’s from when Brown checked for her pulse on her neck.
After two hours, Brown implored the jury to find Jackson-Bolanos not guilty.
“I have a good idea who did it,” he added, but refused to say who, only stating that it wasn’t his client. “He’s innocent,” Brown said.
Jackson-Bolanos told jurors earlier in the trial that he never entered her home but had discovered and touched her bloody body outdoors. However, he acknowledged that he didn’t call the police to report what he had found.
“When I realized she was dead I wanted nothing to do with the entire situation,” he told the jury. “I’m a Black guy in the middle of the night breaking into cars and I found myself standing in front of a dead white woman. That doesn’t look good at all.”
His testimony was a dramatic moment in a trial that has mostly centered on circumstantial evidence. Police said Jackson-Bolanos’ jacket had spots of Woll’s blood. While there is video of him walking in the area, there’s no evidence of him being inside her home.
Jackson-Bolanos told the jury he was tugging on car doors at 4 a.m. to try to find unlocked vehicles when he saw Woll’s body.
“I didn’t shake the body,” he said. “I just checked the neck — no air, no breath or nothing. Once I realized I just touched a dead person I just grabbed the bag and I left.”
Jackson-Bolanos, who has past criminal convictions, said he feared calling police because he didn’t want to explain what he was doing in the middle of the night.
It took weeks for police to identify Jackson-Bolanos. Investigators first arrested a former boyfriend who made a hysterical call to 911 and told authorities that he believed he might have killed Woll but couldn’t remember it.
Jurors saw video of the sobbing man’s encounter with police last November in a parking lot.
“I had motive and opportunity and I don’t know what the third one is but I probably had that, too,” he told officers.
But the man, who had been under treatment for depression, and he testified at trial that he had no role in Woll’s death.
“I believe now it was an adverse reaction to a medication,” he said of delusions.
Woll’s sister, Monica Rosen, said she told police soon after the slaying that another man had been stalking Woll. But she testified that she was in shock at the time and “had no basis to use those words.”
“My sister was the epitome of good. She had no enemies to my knowledge,” Rosen said.
Woll was president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue. She was also active in Democratic politics, working for U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin and state Attorney General Dana Nessel. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Woll was a “beacon in her community.”
