Suspect acquitted of premeditated murder of Jewish leader Samantha Woll

The main suspect in the murder of Michigan synagogue leader Samantha Woll has been acquitted of first-degree premeditated murder, but faces a possible retrial after jurors failed to reach a verdict on another 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 dismissed and replaced by an alternate.

“We are saddened that justice has not been done for Samantha,” the family of the murdered Jewish activist told the Detroit Free Press.

Jackson-Bolanos was found guilty of lying to police when he claimed he was near the crime scene. He eventually admitted to touching Woll’s body, but insisted he only discovered it by chance while looking for cars to break into near the murdered woman’s Detroit home.

The jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on either the first-degree murder count—which under Michigan law means murder committed during the commission of another crime—or the home invasion count.

This leaves the possibility of a retrial open and prosecutor Kym Worthy promised to “continue to fight 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 October 21, 2023.

The brutal murder of a prominent activist and leader of Detroit’s Jewish community sparked fears of anti-Semitic violence. It occurred just weeks after the October 7 massacre by Hamas terrorists in Israel.

Jackson-Bolanos lied to police at least 40 times, claiming he was not near the crime scene, the Free Press reported.

However, surveillance footage, cell phone data and DNA evidence indicated that he had been in the area at the same time – and he admitted this in his defense statement, but claimed that he had nothing to do with the girl’s murder.

“This case is about the wrong person who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said defense attorney Brian Brown.

The defense argued instead that the cruelty of Woll’s killing indicated a “crime of passion” committed by someone who knew her.

Her ex-boyfriend, Jeffrey Herbstman, called 911 in a panic in November because he feared he might have murdered her and forgotten about it.

“I think I could be a danger to others… What have I done?… I know I’m in big trouble,” he said in the phone call.

Herbstman was arrested but released without charges. He said he made the call after taking a drag on a vape pen and taking a second dose of a new antidepressant, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Brown, Jackson-Bolano’s attorney, called the mixed decisions “kind of a small partial victory, but not the victory I expected.”

Woll’s family did not want to accept his possible innocence.

“There is overwhelming evidence that Michael Jackson-Bolanos took the life of our beloved Samantha,” the family statement said, according to the Detroit News.

“We will not relent in our pursuit of justice in her name. … This senseless tragedy leaves holes in our hearts that will never heal. But Samantha believed in a world of goodness and peace. We hope that as a society, in Samantha’s honor, we can continue to strive for good.”

With post wires