DETROIT (WWJ) — For the first time since the jury in the Samantha Woll murder trial returned a partial verdict last week, her family is speaking out as the defense team of Michael Jackson-Bolanos is seeking to have the remaining charges dismissed.
The 29-year-old Detroit man, accused of killing Woll, was found guilty of lying to police and not guilty of first-degree premeditated murder, while the jury remained deadlocked on felony murder and home invasion charges.
The defense team on Wednesday filed a motion to have the felony murder and home invasion charges dismissed, meaning Jackson-Bolanos would not be retried. After a brief hearing Thursday, Judge Margaret Van Houten said the prosecution has until Aug. 2 to file a response. A hearing will be held on Aug. 9 to make a determination.
Sentencing for the conviction of lying to police will also take place on Aug. 9.
In addition to the motion to dismiss, attorney Purna Krishnamoorthy, a member of Jackson-Bolanos' defense team, has started an online petition calling on prosecutors to release him.
Krishnamoorthy says the petition was a way to show the Prosecutor's office that there are many people who believe Jackson-Bolanos wasn't involved in Samantha Woll's murder, and she also believes race may have been a factor in the case against him.
“I would argue that that was not a complete investigation, that was not a thorough investigation,” Krishnamoorthy said. “I would say what happened to Michael Jackson-Bolanos was an incredibly intricate, analyzed and thorough investigation. And he is the only individual they gave that much attention to. So, with that being said, I think that the fact that he’s a Black man has to play some part in that.”
After sitting through what she called “the most difficult five weeks her family has ever experienced,” Woll’s younger sister, Monica Woll Rosen, spoke with reporters, denying those claims.
“What I’ve seen in the media this week has infuriated me. The defense has been working hard to make this case about race when it should be about evidence. And in this case, the evidence points very clearly to one man and that man is Michael Jackson-Bolanos,” Woll Rosen said.
Woll Rosen said her sister spent her entire life breaking down racial stereotypes and boundaries and that she would be the last person in the world that would want to wrongly accuse someone of murder.
“From the outset of this investigation, there were dozens of initial suspects. And not one of them was Black. Through a long and exhaustive process, these suspects were excluded one by one because no evidence connected them to the murder. Eventually, the murderer was identified. But not because of racial profiling, because of the use of modern science and technology,” she said.
Jackson-Bolanos had been charged in connection with the stabbing death of Woll, who was found dead outside her home the morning of Oct. 21, 2023. Authorities believe she was stabbed inside her home in the early morning hours after returning from a wedding the night before and stumbled outside onto the sidewalk, where a neighbor found her hours later.
Over the course of the trial, prosecutors presented evidence — including cell phone data records and surveillance video — that placed Jackson-Bolanos in her neighborhood the night she was killed. Testimony also revealed what is likely to be her blood was found on a jacket the defendant wore that night.
Jackson-Bolanos, however, has maintained that he did not kill Woll. He did testify that he was in the area the night she was killed. He said he went to check on her when he saw her lying on the sidewalk, touched her cheek and realized she was dead.
He testified that he initially lied to police about touching her because he was afraid he’d get in trouble for breaking into cars and stealing items throughout the night and also believed he would be accused of her murder.
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