Samantha Woll murder: Jury returns partial verdict for man accused of fatally stabbing Detroit synagogue president

CNN
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Jurors returned mixed verdicts Thursday in the trial of a man accused of killing Detroit synagogue president Samantha Woll in her home.

Michael Jackson-Bolanos, 29, was charged with four counts. Jurors disagreed on the murder and home invasion charges. They found him not guilty of first-degree murder but guilty of lying to a police officer.

A preliminary hearing on the two deadlocked charges has been set for noon July 25. Prosecutors could decide not to retry the case, but did not immediately comment after the jury’s findings Thursday.

The trial, which has lasted more than a month, has been complicated by a juror replacement this week. It has also been marked by stunning testimony from Woll’s ex-boyfriend, Jeffrey Herbstman, who initially told police he “may have murdered my girlfriend” — but later testified he had nothing to do with Woll’s death.

Defense attorney Brian Brown said his client was frustrated by the verdict.

“We think the jury should have returned a not guilty verdict on first-degree murder and first-degree home invasion. They got it right on first-degree murder,” Brown said. “My guy is innocent. You know, there’s no reason to go through this again.”

Brown said there was “no evidence that my client would have entered the house. He never went inside.” The lawyer said he was still “scratching his head” over the home invasion charge, which has not been decided.

Woll, 40, was the board chairman of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue in Detroit.

The day before her body was found, Woll had attended a wedding and appeared normal, police said. She returned home shortly after midnight and there were no signs of forced entry at her home.

A prosecutor told jurors that Woll left his door open, leading to the tragic encounter.

In the early hours of October 21, 2023, Woll’s body was found fatally stabbed outside her home. Authorities believe she stumbled outside after being attacked.

A medical examiner determined that Woll died from “multiple injuries caused by a straight-edged sharp instrument,” Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy’s office said in a news release.

Authorities have said they believe Jackson-Bolanos did not know Woll, and the Wayne County prosecutor has said there is no evidence to suggest the killing was a hate crime.

But blood evidence pointed to Jackson-Bolanos as the killer, Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Elsey said.

“They didn’t arrest him until almost six weeks after he died. But when they did, there was still blood from the victim on a jacket he was wearing that night and on a backpack he was carrying that night,” Elsey told jurors.

Prosecutors accused Jackson-Bolanos of entering Woll’s home and stabbing her multiple times. He also “lied to police by making statements he knew to be false and misleading regarding the investigation of the case,” prosecutors said in December.

When Jackson-Bolanos was interviewed by Detroit police last year, he insisted he did not know Woll and had no involvement in her death.

“I don’t know this woman. I don’t know anything about her except when she was on the news, man. That’s it,” Jackson-Bolanos said, according to CNN affiliate WDIV. “The only thing I know is I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

In his opening statement, Brown said evidence at the scene indicates his client did not kill Woll during a home invasion.

“Yes, Samantha Woll tragically passed away on October 21st. However, it was not Michael Jackson-Bolanos who did this. She was stabbed eight times in the neck, the back of the head, the back of the neck. To me, that would indicate a crime of passion. This was not just some random person who came into her house and tried to steal something,” Brown told jurors.

“Nothing of value was stolen from her home. She had valuables. Her purse was in plain sight. Credit cards, cell phone, laptops — in plain sight,” Brown said. “If someone had come into that house to steal something and stab her eight times, they would have taken something of value for sure.”

The case took a strange turn when Woll’s ex-boyfriend, Herbstman, who had previously told police he may have killed Woll but didn’t remember doing so, testified.

Herbstman said he dated Woll from August 2022 until July 2023, when the couple amicably split.

The ex-boyfriend, who said he was diagnosed with depression at least a decade ago, became despondent after learning of Woll’s death last October.

“I was devastated… There were days I couldn’t get out of bed,” Herbstman said.

By October, he was getting no relief from one of his usual depression medications, “so my psychiatrist recommended I try a new medication” – starting with a small dose and gradually increasing it, Herbstman testified.

On Nov. 7, Herbstman was on a business trip in Kalamazoo, about 140 miles (225 kilometers) west of Detroit, when he suffered a panic attack in his car. He said he had recently increased the dose of his new antidepressant and had also smoked marijuana.

“My thoughts started racing… I couldn’t stop worrying about things,” Herbstman testified.

“I started to believe that I was responsible for her death, that I had killed her in some way and that I didn’t remember doing it,” Herbstman said. “And I couldn’t shake that feeling. It was extremely disturbing.”

He called 911 and a female officer arrived with her body camera on. In the video, which was played in court, Herbstman told police: “I’m having a panic attack. … I may have murdered my girlfriend, but I don’t remember.”

In his testimony last month, Herbstman said he had nothing to do with Woll’s death. He said he stopped taking the new medication immediately after the panic attack and has not had a similar episode since.

The ex-boyfriend was eventually cleared as a suspect. Elsey told jurors that “police found no evidence” placing Herbstman at the scene or any evidence that he left her home that night.

The prosecution said Herbstman was granted “use immunity” during the trial. “That means that during the time you’re sitting on the witness stand, anything you say can’t be used against you in a subsequent criminal proceeding,” Elsey told Herbstman.

The trial, which began in early June, lasted longer than expected. According to Van Houten, jurors had been asked to be available until July 3, but deliberations did not begin until July 9.

Jurors were forced to resume deliberations Tuesday after one juror had to leave for a planned vacation, CNN affiliate WDIV reported.

That juror was replaced by an alternate juror, and the original juror’s comments and opinions on the evidence had to be set aside as deliberations resumed.

CNN’s Rob Frehse contributed to this report.