Detroit Man Accused Of Killing Samantha Woll​ Wants Case Thrown Out

DETROIT — Defense attorneys for a Detroit man accused of killing Detroit Jewish leader Samantha Woll filed a motion Wednesday to have the case dismissed, according to news reports.

The motion comes after a jury found 29-year-old Michael Jackson-Bolanos not guilty of first-degree murder, but were deadlocked on felony murder and a home invasion charges in connection with the killing. The trial lasted six weeks.

Prosecutors said during a Thursday morning hearing they need more time to decide if they want to retry Jackson-Bolanos on the remaining charges, so Judge Margaret Van Houten scheduled a hearing for Aug. 9 to determine whether the charges would be brought again.

While jurors acquitted Jackson-Bolanos of first-degree murder and were unable to reach a verdict on the felony murder and home invasion charges, they did determine he lied to the police, which is a two-year felony, but as a habitual offender, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

Van Houten ordered a pre-sentencing investigation, but did not immediately schedule a sentencing date. In the meantime, Jackson-Bolanos remains in jail.

Prosecutors said Jackson-Bolanos brutally stabbed Woll to death during a burglary after she left her apartment unlocked in October 2023 when she returned home from a friend's wedding.

Police found Woll's body with multiple stab wounds lying a few feet from her apartment in Detroit's Lafayette Park neighborhood at 6:38 a.m. on Oct. 21, 2023.

Months later, Jackson-Bolanos was arrested in connection with the killing after prosecutors said video and phone records showed him in Woll's neighborhood around the time of her death. Prosecutors also said Woll's blood was found on a black North Face jacket he was wearing that night.

Jackson-Bolanos testified in his own defense that he had been breaking into vehicles near Woll’s home that night, but denied killing her. He said he never went into her apartment that night, but did stumble upon her body outside her home and touched her neck to see if she was alive. That's where he said the blood on his jacket came from.

Jackson-Bolanos' lawyer, Brian Brown, also suggested that police had overlooked other suspects, including Woll's ex-boyfriend Jeffrey Herbstman, who told police during a self-described full-fledged panic attack in November 2023 that he thought he killed Woll but did not remember it. He later recanted his story.

Herbstman was arrested in connection with the killing, but was never charged and later released by police after a lack of evidence.

Woll, 40, was a prominent Jewish leader in Detroit, serving as president of the board of Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue. Police do not believe antisemitism played a role in the killing.

"There is overwhelming evidence that Michael Jackson-Bolanos took our beloved Samantha’s life," the Woll family said in the statement. "Samantha spent much of her life working toward justice, and it pains us that justice for Samantha has not yet been served."