DETROIT – The judge may declare a mistrial if jurors are unable to reach a verdict in the Samantha Woll murder case.
Deliberations resumed Thursday morning in the murder trial for the man accused of killing Detroit synagogue president Samantha Woll. Jackson-Bolanos was charged in December with felony murder, home invasion, lying to the police, and later first-degree murder.
On Tuesday, the judge said the jurors would go in on Thursday for more deliberations and if they could not reach a verdict that then the court would accept the deadlock.
Local 4′s Shawn Ley spoke with Wayne County Criminal Defense Bar Association president Lillian Diallo in an interview late Tuesday, “If it’s a hung jury, it’s a hung jury. You know, it’s not fair to either side to keep this going on like this for ever and ever and ever.”
Thursday was the fifth day of deliberations and will likely be the final day. Thursday morning the jury indicated to the judge that the remain deadlocked on deciding guilty or no guilty on all four charges.
---> Update: Samantha Woll murder trial ends with partial verdict
What is a deadlocked jury?
A deadlocked jury, also known as a hung jury, is a jury that is unable to reach a verdict. When a verdict cannot be reached this will result in a mistrial.
Double jeopardy does not apply to cases where a mistrial is declared due to a hung jury. This means it will be up to the prosecutor’s office to decide if they take the case to trial again or drop it.
What we know about the case
Woll was stabbed to death at her home in Lafayette Park, a neighborhood just east of Downtown Detroit, on Oct. 21, 2023. A neighbor found her body on the ground outside her home hours after she was killed.
Police said there was a “trail of blood” that led from where Woll’s body was found to back to her home. Police believe she was attacked in her home sometime after 12:30 a.m., when she arrived home from a wedding, and that she stumbled out after the attack.
Investigators said there were no signs of forced entry at her home. She was found with her wallet and phone on her.
The trial began on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, and closing statements were made on Tuesday, July 9. The jury began deliberating on Wednesday.
---> Samantha Woll’s alleged killer on trial: Watch all witness testimony here
The prosecution argued that Jackson-Bolanos was known to lie and that he was the only person they knew was at the scene of the crime the morning Woll was murdered.
Jackson-Bolanos admitted that he was in the parking lot of Woll’s townhome -- security video and cellphone data confirmed he was there -- but he said he did not kill her.
He said he was stealing items from unlocked vehicles in the area when he saw her body. He said when he realized she was dead that he panicked and ran away.
“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 did not kill 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.”
---> Full coverage of the Samantha Woll murder trial is available here.