DETROIT – A man accused of attacking and killing well-known Jewish community leader Samantha Woll in 2023 will be back in court next month.
Samantha Woll was stabbed to death in her Detroit home on Oct. 21, 2023. Michael Jackson-Bolanos faced four charges in Woll’s death: first-degree felony murder, first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree home invasion, and concealing facts or misleading police.
On July 18, 2024, after five days of deliberations, the jury found Jackson-Bolanos not guilty of first-degree premeditated murder. They did find him guilty of concealing facts or misleading police.
The jury remained deadlocked on the first-degree felony murder charge and the first-degree home invasion charge. Prosecutors have decided to pursue those charges again and a pre-trial conference was held Thursday.
At the hearing, the defense for Jackson-Bolanos filed a motion to dismiss the case. The prosecutor has a week to file a responsive brief.
Jackson-Bolanos has been remanded to jail. The next court date is set for 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024.
---> Samantha Woll’s alleged killer on trial: Watch all witness testimony here
What we know about the case
At 6:38 a.m. on Oct. 21, 2023, a neighbor walking past the apartments found Samantha Woll’s body lying outside of an apartment in the 1360 block of Joliet Place in Detroit. She had been stabbed to death.
Police said that her front door was ajar and unlocked and 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. There were no signs of forced entry at her home. She was found with her wallet and phone on her.
In the first trial, prosecutors argued that Jackson-Bolanos was known to lie and that he was the only person they knew who 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.
---> Full coverage of the Samantha Woll murder trial is available here.