The prime suspect in the killing of Michigan synagogue leader Samantha Woll has been acquitted of her first-degree premeditated murder — but could face a possible retrial after jurors failed to reach a verdict on a separate murder charge.
Michael Jackson-Bolanos, 29, was acquitted of the most serious charge on Thursday after five days of deliberations, during which one juror was excused and replaced with an alternate.
“It pains us that justice for Samantha has not been served,” the murdered Jewish activist’s family told the Detroit Free Press.
Jackson-Bolanos was, however, convicted of lying to police about being near the scene of the crime after finally admitting he had touched Woll’s body — but insisting he’d only stumbled across it while looking for cars to break into near the slain woman’s Detroit home.
The jury couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict on felony murder — which under Michigan law is a murder committed during another crime — as well as home invasion.
That leaves open the possibility of a new trial, and prosecutor Kym Worthy pledged to “press on for justice” for Woll’s family.
Woll, 40, was the former president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue in Detroit. She was found stabbed to death outside her townhouse in the city’s Lafayette Park neighborhood on Oct. 21, 2023.
The brutal murder of a prominent activist and leader in the Detroit Jewish community sparked fears of antisemitic violence, coming just weeks after Hamas terrorists’ Oct. 7 slaughter in Israel.
Jackson-Bolanos lied to police at least 40 times, claiming he was nowhere near the murder scene, the Free Press noted.
However, surveillance footage, cellphone data and DNA evidence put him in the area at the time — and he admitted as much while testifying in his own defense, while maintaining he had nothing to do with her murder.
“This case involves the wrong person who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” defense attorney Brian Brown said.
The defense instead argued that the savagery of Woll’s killing pointed to a “crime of passion” committed by someone who knew her.
Her ex-boyfriend Jeffrey Herbstman had made a panicked 911 call in November fearing that he might have murdered her and forgotten it.
“I think I may be a danger to others … What have I done? … I know I’m in big trouble,” he said in the call.
Herbstman was arrested but released without charge. He testified that he made the call after taking hits from a vape pen and a second dose of a new antidepressant, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Jackson-Bolanos’ attorney, Brown, called the mixed decisions “somewhat of a small, partial victory, but it’s not the victory I was anticipating.”
Woll’s family refused to accept he could be innocent.
“There is overwhelming evidence that Michael Jackson-Bolanos took our beloved Samantha’s life,” the family said in the statement, according to the Detroit News.
“We will not rest in our pursuit of justice on her behalf. … This senseless tragedy leaves us with holes in our hearts that will never heal. But Samantha believed in a world of kindness and peace. We hope that as a society, we can continue to strive for good in Samantha’s honor.”
With Post wires
