After their fourth day of deliberating, jurors in the Samantha Woll murder trial were sent home and told to return Thursday, taking a one-day break to accommodate a juror's child care issue.
Since deliberations began last week in the trial of Michael Jackson-Bolanos, who is accused of fatally stabbing Woll in 2023, the jury has twice told Wayne County Circuit Judge Margaret Van Houten that it was deadlocked on some of the counts. She sent them back into deliberations both times to try to reach a verdict.
"Looks like you’re still in the same place, but have had some movement throughout the day," Van Houten said to the jurors Tuesday afternoon, noting they had also asked for another transcript.
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A juror is unable to return to court Wednesday because of issues with child care. Van Houten told the jury to resume deliberations Thursday morning to see if there is any further movement.
"If not, then we’ll accept the deadlock," Van Houten said.
A juror was dismissed on Monday due to a prescheduled vacation and an alternate juror joined the panel Tuesday.
Jackson-Bolanos, 29, is charged with felony murder, first-degree murder, home invasion and lying to police. Woll, who led the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, was found fatally stabbed outside her Detroit townhome in Lafayette Park on Oct. 21.
The prosecution has alleged that Jackson-Bolanos stabbed Woll during a home invasion, fled to avoid getting caught and lied to police about his actions that night. Her blood was found on the sleeve of his jacket. During the trial the prosecution presented no physical evidence placing Jackson-Bolanos inside of Woll's home, where police believe she was stabbed.
The defense has argued that the killing was a crime of passion and that police arrested the wrong person. Jackson-Bolanos, who testified in his own defense, told the jury he was out casing vehicles when he stumbled across Woll's body, checked for her pulse and fled when he realized she was dead. He admitted he initially lied to police about seeing or touching Woll's body, but said he did so because he feared being blamed for her death, and maintained he did not kill her.
Contact Gina Kaufman: gkaufman@freepress.co m
Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jury in Samantha Woll murder trial sent home, to resume deliberations Thursday
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