A Detroit jury delivered a partial verdict Thursday in the trial of Michael Jackson-Bolanos, the man accused in the murder of Jewish leader Samantha Woll, following five days of deliberations.
The defendant faced four charges. The jury was deadlocked on the felony murder and home invasion charges. The jury found him not guilty of premeditated murder and guilty of concealing facts to police.
“Partial verdicts happen from time to time and are not ideal,” Colorado-based attorney Eric Faddis told The Epoch Times’ sister media NTD.
“The Felony Murder and Home Invasion charges share an alleged factual nexus so, if the jury were to hang on one, it makes sense that they may hang on the other.”
He added that partial verdicts provide only “partial closure” to those involved in the case, “and the promise of more litigation to come,” especially when there is a homicide case.
Ms. Woll, 40, was the board president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue in Detroit. She was stabbed to death in her apartment in the Lafayette neighborhood during the early morning hours of Oct. 21, 2023. She was later found dead outside her home. Police believe she stumbled out of the residence after she was attacked.
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Mr. Jackson-Bolanos, 29, testified during the trial that he lied to police but maintained that he did not kill her. He was breaking into vehicles around the victim’s neighborhood when he found her body, according to his testimony.
The defendant later admitted that he touched the body and realized she was dead. He testified that he left the scene instead of calling 911 because he had a criminal history and was committing a crime around the time. He later lied to police when they questioned him about finding the body.
Police said that the two did not know each other, and it did not appear to be a hate crime.
Prosecutors alleged that Mr. Jackon-Bolanos killed her during a home invasion. Wayne County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Ryan Elsey said blood found on the defendant’s jacket and backpack tied him to the crime.
Defense attorney Brian Brown said in opening statements that the victim was stabbed many times, which indicated a crime of passion likely from someone she knew versus a random person who entered the house to steal valuables, noting that nothing of value was actually stolen.
Ex-Boyfriend Initially Arrested
Jeffrey Herbstam, the victim’s ex-boyfriend, was initially arrested in early November after confessing to police he was the one who committed the crime. He later recanted his confession and said he was experiencing a psychotic break at the time and was on medication for depression.
“Due to the adverse reaction to the medication, I had convinced myself that I had killed Samantha Woll,” he testified during the trial.
He was eventually cleared as a suspect.
Mr. Jackson-Bolanos faces up to two years in prison after being convicted of lying to police.
“The constitutional concept of Double Jeopardy precludes the defendant from being tried a second time on the charges on which he was acquitted,” Mr. Faddis told NTD. “So, the prosecution will decide whether to retry him on the charges for which the jury was deadlocked. And in this homicide case, there’s no question the government will push forward with a new trial.”
A pretrial hearing on the two deadlocked counts has been set for noon on July 25.
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