Man accused in Samantha Woll case cannot be tried again for murder, court rules
(CBS DETROIT) - Murder and home invasion charges have been dismissed against Michael Jackson-Bolanos, 28, who was on trial for the stabbing death of Detroit synagogue leader Samantha Woll.
However, Jackson-Bolanos was sentenced on Friday to 18 months to 15 years for lying to a police officer. This comes nearly a month after a jury found him guilty of that charge but was deadlocked on the murder and home invasion charges.
Jackson-Bolanos' defense team filed a motion to dismiss those two charges, which was granted by the court. This means the prosecution cannot re-try him for murder.
"First, I want to thank the jury for their time, dedication, and attention to this case. We were hopeful that a decision could be reached today, but we will press on for justice for the Woll family," said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy in a statement.
The prosecutor's office says it will be seeking leave to appeal the dismissal in Michigan Court of Appeals.
Jackson-Bolanos was accused of stabbing Woll to death in October 2023. Woll, the president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, was found outside of her home in Detroit's Lafayette Park neighborhood.
Jurors remained deadlocked on murder charge
The jurors deliberated for multiple days after coming back deadlocked in the trial. Deliberations began on July 9 following closing arguments. On July 12, the jury said it was deadlocked, and Wayne County Circuit Judge Margaret Van Houten asked them to continue deliberating on Monday and Tuesday.
After 3 p.m. on July 15, Van Houten got a note from jurors that said they were still deadlocked. In addition, Juror No. 2 was replaced with an alternate the following day because of a previously planned vacation.
During the trial, Jackson-Bolanos testified that, on the night of her death, he was walking around checking to see if cars were unlocked. While doing this, he came across Woll's body on the ground. He said he touched her neck to see if she was OK, and when he realized that she was dead, he left the area.
Jackson-Bolanos acknowledged that he didn't call the police after seeing her body, testifying that "my first reaction was to reach for my phone, but I had to consider where I was and what I was doing at the time," referring to how he was going into cars.
While prosecutors argued that Jackson-Bolanos had a tendency to lie, his defense team argued there were other suspects in the case, such as Woll's ex-boyfriend, Jeffery Herbstman.
