The legal case against a man accused of killing a Detroit synagogue leader took a significant turn on Friday when a judge dismissed a remaining murder charge. Three weeks prior, the accused, Michael Jackson-Bolanos, was acquitted by a jury of a similar charge. Judge Margaret Van Houten deemed trying Jackson-Bolanos again for murder unconstitutional under “double jeopardy” laws, marking a victory for the defendant who has maintained his innocence in the fatal stabbing of Samantha Woll. The dismissal of the pending murder charge dealt a blow to the prosecutors in the high-profile case.
Woll, 40, was discovered dead outside her Detroit home last October, sparking speculation about a potential antisemitic motive given her role as a synagogue leader. However, law enforcement found no direct link to such motivations in connection to the Israel-Hamas conflict at that time.
In July, a jury found Jackson-Bolanos not guilty of first-degree premeditated murder but could not reach a unanimous decision on a felony murder charge, which in Michigan involves a killing during the commission of another crime, in this case, a home invasion. Citing a 2009 U.S. Supreme Court ruling regarding partial jury verdicts, Judge Van Houten ruled out a retrial.
Consequently, the judge dropped the remaining murder and home invasion charges against Jackson-Bolanos, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison for lying to authorities during the investigation, his sole conviction. Despite the defense requesting probation, the judge remarked on the defendant’s dishonesty. Jackson-Bolanos, in his defense, testified that he stumbled upon Woll’s body but denied any involvement in her death. Defense attorney Brian Brown asserted his client was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Initially, investigators arrested Woll’s former boyfriend, who implicated himself in a 911 call but attributed his statements to medication side effects and was not charged. Woll, a prominent figure in the Downtown Synagogue and Democratic political circles, was mourned by Governor Gretchen Whitmer as a community beacon.
