Defense: Police handled Samantha Woll's ex-boyfriend with 'kid gloves'

Defense attorney Brian Brown didn't just argue that Samantha Woll's slaying was personal.

He acted out the scene for the jury as he hunched over in the courtroom and mimicked the killer bludgeoning the beloved Synagogue leader in the back of the head.

"This is a crime of passion," Brown said during closing arguments, as he sought to convince the jury that police arrested the wrong man for Woll's 2021 killing.

"We're not saying he's an angel. But he's not a murderer," Brown said of his client: 29-year-old Michael Jackson-Bolanos, who maintains he was out breaking into cars when he stumbled across Woll's body outside her Detroit home in 2023, checked for a pulse then fled in a state of "panic" when he realized she was dead.

The prosecution maintains Jackson-Bolanos murdered Woll during a home invasion, then fled because he didn't want to get caught.

'Don't believe him':Prosecutor urges jury to convict defendant in Samantha Woll's murder

Brown contested that theory as he showed the jury a photo of some evidence that was found at the scene: Woll's purse, laptop, keys and cash were still there.

"If this was a robbery, this would not have been in this picture. It would have been taken," Brown said. "You don't take someone's purse? Money? Credit cards?"

Brown acknowledged his client has committed "petty crimes."

“We know he was hitting cars. We know he has a history. If he wanted to steal her car, the key is right there. Laptops. Credit cards. Money. Nothing is taken,” he said.

'They did not come to rob her. They came to kill her'

Brown also pointed out that Woll's home had not been ransacked.

"This is not a robbery," Brown said as he showed the jury disturbing photos of Woll's slit throat and two stab wounds to her skull.

"They did not come to rob her," Brown said. "They came to kill her."

As for the blood that showed up on his client's jacket, Brown said that makes sense given what Jackson-Bolanos did when he found Woll: He said he checked for her pulse on her neck, which means his jacket rubbed up against the blood.

"Why is there only blood on his sleeve? That's not a coincidence. The reason is is because he did not kill Samantha Woll," Brown said, as he repeatedly stressed the "crime-of-passion" theme.

"Where she was stabbed - this was very strategic," Brown said. "This was a deliberate act, a crime of passion."

'This is not justice'

"Michael Jackson-Bolanos had absolutely nothing to do with this murder … nor did he ever go inside of Samantha Woll's house. There is not a shred of evidence (of that)," he said, later stressing: "I feel bad for her family. They are not getting justice. This is not justice."

Brown echoed what he argued from the get-go: "This circumstance involves (a) person who was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Brown also asked jurors to consider this theory: that Woll struggled with her killer inside her home, then ventured outside hoping she could get to a neighbor for help.

""Samantha Woll was a fighter," he told the jury. "She had a fighter's spirit."

Defense: Police treated ex-boyfriend with 'kid gloves'

Brown spent much of his closing focusing on other potential suspects, specifically an ex-boyfriend of Woll who allegedly admitted to police during a panic attack that he killed Woll, but later recanted his story.

The ex-boyfriend was never charged, and testified at trial on behalf of the prosecution.

Brown argued to the jury that the ex-boyfriend was not thoroughly investigated. He said he allegedly was upset about Woll breaking up with him and rejecting him multiple times, and was granted immunity in exchange for his testimony at trial.

Brown asked the jury to consider this about the ex-boyfriend: When he was arrested, he already had a defense lawyer. The police were “very nice to him,” and his father told him not to say anything.

Brown portrayed the ex-boyfriend as a pot-smoking, paranoid liar who admitted to killing Woll, but then recanted and said he was delusional that night and that his psychiatric medications were causing side effects.

Brown argued the ex “knew exactly” what he was saying and what he had done, telling jurors: “That’s why he called police and said, ‘I’m in trouble. '”

But then the ex-boyfriend's lawyers “swooped in” and said he “ ' had a delusion' And they bought it.”

Brown also addressed a seat-belt cutter - the prosecution called it a knife - that was found in his client’s pocket after Woll's death. He noted multiple knives were found – including one belonging to the ex-boyfriend - that could have been the murder weapon, but were not evaluated or tested for a connection to the crime. He argued police did not do a thorough job but rather set their sights only on his client.

“It was not a thorough investigation,” Brown said as he attacked the prosecution's narrative. “Stones were left unturned. I think they deep-down have reservations about (the ex-boyfriend) recanting.”

Brown wrapped up his 2-hour closing by imploring the jury to find his client not guilty.

"I have a good idea who did it," Brown argued, without giving any names.

But it wasn't his client.

"He's innocent," Brown said.

The prosecution will get a chance to rebut Brown's closing. Because it bears the burden of proof, the prosecution will have the final say before the jury heads into the deliberation room later Tuesday.

Tresa Baldas:tbaldas@freepress.com