Police have charged a ‘stranger’ with the murder of a Detroit synagogue leader and said the killing happened during a home invasion.
Samantha Woll, 40, was fatally stabbed at her Lafayette Park home on October 21 as she returned from a wedding.
Police believe she was attacked inside her home before stumbling outside. She was found around 6.30am and pronounced dead at the scene.
Michael Jackson-Bolanos, 28, of Detroit, was taken into custody on Sunday and charged with her murder and two other crimes. His name and charges were not released until Wednesday.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy claimed there was not a ‘shred of evidence’ that Woll was killed as a result of antisemitism or any hate crime.
Authorities have charged Michael Jackson-Bolanos with murder in connection with the October slaying of a Detroit synagogue leader, alleging that she was killed by a stranger who broke into her home
Samantha Woll, 40, was fatally stabbed at her Lafayette Park home on October 21 as she returned from a wedding
Police believe she was attacked inside her home before stumbling outside. She was found at around 6.30am and pronounced dead at the scene
Woll was stabbed several times and left a trail of blood which led to her home.
It was initially feared she was killed in a hate crime as she served as board president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue.
But authorities have dispelled these and say there is no evidence she was killed due to antisemitism.
‘There are no facts to suggest this defendant knew Ms. Woll,’ Worthy said.
Police said a person of interest was in custody over the weekend. A different person who was in custody was released in November.
‘This was an extraordinarily sad and tragic case,’ Worthy said. He added, ‘This takes time. We never want to rush to judgment.’
Jackson-Bolanos was also charged with breaking and entering without permission and lying to a peace officer.
Detroit Police Chief James White said the suspect was first identified by police a few weeks ago when he was being investigated for larcenies in the area where Woll lived.
But he ‘timed out’ and they were forced to release him. ‘Once he was released, we kept an eye on him until we had enough to ultimately make an arrest,’ White said.
The police chief declined to discuss specific aspects of the case, including what linked Jackson-Bolanos to Woll’s murder.
Woll was stabbed several times and left a trail of blood which led to her home
Woll was well-known for her role as president of the board of directors for Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue
Prosecutor Kym Worthy claimed there was not a ‘shred of evidence’ that Woll was killed as a result of antisemitism or any hate crime
‘At no time was anyone in our community at risk,’ White added.
Prosecutor Worthy said Woll’s family have been informed that an arrest was made.
The announcement on Sunday that a person was in custody was the second in two months and came after investigators said in November they were holding someone before releasing them three days later without further explanation.
Worthy clarified this was not the same person.
In the weeks following Woll’s death, police interviewed several persons of interest.
An unidentified man was arrested in the Kalamazoo area on November 8. However, he was released the following weekend without charges.
At the time, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said the man was released due to a lack of police paperwork including a warrant request.
However, unnamed sources told WDIV that the suspect made ambiguous statements to detectives that were not enough to warrant murder charges.
Detroit Police Chief James White said the suspect was first identified by police a few weeks ago when he was being investigated for larcenies in the area where Woll lived
The suspect reportedly stopped talking to police by the time he was taken to the Detroit area and hired an attorney.
Under Michigan law, suspects cannot be held without being charged for more than three days.
Woll’s death came during a period of heightened tensions and growing anti-Semitic attacks in the US following the conflict in the Middle East.
‘Everyone is very eager for the perpetrator to be found and brought to justice,’ Rabbi Asher Lopatin, the executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council previously said.
‘It will not, of course, bring back Sam, but it would provide some closure, which is important to all those who knew her and for the entire community.’
The Wayne County public defenders office did not immediately respond to whether it is representing Jackson-Bolanos and had comment on his case.
Besides her work for the synagogue, Woll had worked for Democratic U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin and on the political campaign of state Attorney General Dana Nessel.