DETROIT – After weeks of testimony and dozens of witnesses, the man accused of murdering Samantha Woll took the stand Wednesday, July 3, and insisted he had nothing to do with her death.
Background: Prosecution rests in Samantha Woll murder trial
Michael Jackson-Bolanos shared with the jury his state of mind after he found her body.
Woll was stabbed to death at her Lafayette Park condo last October. Jackson-Bolanos was arrested a month later.
He’s now on trial for first-degree murder, home invasion and lying to a peace officer.
The defense trying to give the jury insight into why Michael Jackson-Bolanos lied to police about seeing Woll’s body.
Once Jackson-Bolanos realized she was dead, he said he panicked and ran away. He claimed all he was trying to do that night was break into cars.
“I didn’t shake the body. I checked the neck and put my hand like in between right here, no air -- no breath or nothing,” Jackson-Bolanos testified. “Once I realized I just touched a dead person, I grabbed the bag and left.”
He said he did not enter Woll’s home and had nothing to do with her murder and that when he found her body, he was checking on her.
“I didn’t know whether she had like fallen outside or was drunk. Me as a person -- yeah, I am out doing wrong -- I still wanted to make sure that this person was OK,” Jackson-Bolanos said. “When I realized she was dead, I wanted nothing to do with the entire situation. I’m a black guy in the middle of the night breaking into cars and I find myself standing in front of a dead white woman -- that doesn’t look good at all.”
The prosecution has not yet had an opportunity to cross-examine Jackson-Bolanos.
The trial is expected to resume Monday, July 8.