A murder case against one man is accused of killing a beloved synagogue leader in Detroit has been completely discontinued.
Michael Jackson-Bolanos, 28, had been accused of fatally stabbing Samantha Woll, 40, at her home in October 2023. Last month, Jackson-Bolanos was acquitted on a charge of first degree murderbut the jury deadlocked on the charges of aggravated murder and home invasion.
Judge Margaret Van Houten ruled that Friday Retrying Jackson-Bolanos on the felony murder charge would constitute double jeopardywhich violates his Fifth Amendment rights.
However, he will not go free.
The jury convicted him of lying to the policeand he was sentenced to 18 months behind bars, with credit for about 240 days served.
Woll was found fatally stabbed outside his home on October 21, 2023, and many feared she was the victim of an anti-Semitic attack two weeks after Hamas attacked Israel.
Police said they found no evidence that Woll was the victim of a hate crime. Jackson-Bolanos was arrested about two months later, after security camera and cellphone data placed him in the area surrounding Woll’s home at the time of the crime.
According to Jackson-Bolanos, he was close looking for unlocked cars to break into when he came upon Woll’s body. Jackson-Bolanos said he touched her body and then ran away. At the trial, he testified in his own defense and was asked to explain these actions.
“I didn’t know if she had fallen outside or was drunk. Me as a person – yes, I make mistakes – I still wanted to make sure this person was okay.” he told the court. “When I realized she was dead, I wanted nothing to do with the whole situation. I’m a black guy breaking into cars in the middle of the night and I find myself standing in front of a dead white woman. It doesn’t look at all looking good.”
Prosecutors vowed to appeal Van Houten’s decision to drop the additional murder charge.
About a month before Jackson-Bolanos was arrested, another man, Jeffrey Herbstman told police he may have killed Woll. He said he was her ex-boyfriend, but police said he called in a drug-induced panic attack.
With News Wire Services