Michigan prosecutors charge man with break-in, murder of prominent Detroit Jewish leader

Prosecutors in Michigan have filed break-in and murder charges against a 28-year-old man in the October killing of Detroit synagogue leader Samantha Woll.  

Michael Manuel Jackson-Bolanos is charged with murder and breaking and entering, prosecutor Kym Worthy announced during a Wednesday press conference. 

Wednesday’s charges come after Detroit police detained a “person of interest” over the weekend. A different “person of interest” was arrest last month, but later released without being charged. 

Woll, 40, was found dead outside her home, east of downtown Detroit, on Oct. 21, hours after returning from a wedding. Investigators believe she was attacked inside the residence.

There were no signs of forced entry, according to police. An anonymous caller alerted emergency responders after finding her body around 6:30 a.m. 

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Snippets of the emergency dispatch were heard on the police scanner early that morning saying it was a suspicious death and describing a trail of blood at the scene.

Woll was a well-respected synagogue president and active in politics, having worked for Democratic U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin and on the political campaign of state Attorney General Dana Nessel.

Worthy said Jackson-Bolanos and Woll did not know each and there was not a “shred of evidence” to suggest her murder was motivated by antisemitism. 

“This was an extraordinarily sad and tragic case,” Worthy said. He added: “This takes time. We never want to rush to judgment.”

 

It was not immediately clear if Jackson-Bolanos had retained an attorney who could speak on his behalf. 

Fox News’ Chris Eberhart and The Associated Press contributed to this report.