Jury deliberations pause for a day in Samantha Woll murder trial

After a full day of deliberations, the jury in the Samantha Woll murder trial did not reach a verdict Wednesday, though it will take a daylong break on Thursday due to a scheduling conflict involving one of the jurors.

The full panel will resume deliberations on Friday at 8:30 a.m. and meet until 2 p.m. If a verdict is not reached by then, deliberations will resume on Monday.

So far, there's no indication the jury is close to making a decision. It had no questions on Wednesday, other than requesting a monitor be brought into the deliberation room so jurors could see the evidence on a large screen.

A killer, or just a petty thief?Samantha Woll's murder case is now in the hands of jury.

The jury of eight men and four women is deciding the fate of 29-year-old Michael Jackson-Bolanos, who is accused in the 2023 fatal stabbing of Woll, a beloved synagogue leader and political activist who was found dead outside her Detroit home just hours after returning from a wedding.

The prosecution alleges Jackson-Bolanos killed her during a home invasion, though the defense maintains the police arrested the wrong man, and that the victim's brutal stabbing death was a "crime of passion" carried out by someone who wanted her dead.

According to trial testimony, Jackson-Bolanos was breaking into cars in Woll's neighborhood on the night she was stabbed eight times in the neck and top of her head.

Jackson-Bolanos, who took the rare step of testifying in his own defense, told the jury that he stumbled across Woll's body that night and checked for a pulse, but did not kill her. He fled when he realized she was dead, Jackson-Bolanos said, explaining that he feared getting blamed for her death.

His lawyer also argued to the jury that this was not a robbery as the prosecution maintains, noting nothing was taken from her home.

The prosecution, however, called the defendant a serial liar and urged the jury not to believe him, maintaining that Jackson-Bolanos fled because he feared getting caught for the killing.

During the 4-week trial, the defense also accused the police of running a shoddy investigation and ignoring other potential suspects, including an ex-boyfriend who allegedly confessed to the killing during a panic attack, but later recanted.

The prosecution said the ex-boyfriend's confession was false and not backed by any details, and that he convinced himself that he killed Woll because he was delusional. It said police found no evidence linking the ex-boyfriend to her death and that all evidence points to Jackson-Bolanos.

Deliberations resume Friday.

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com