Flooding concerns • Samantha Woll trial jury deliberations begin • Half-sunken boat remains in Detroit River

WEDNESDAY NEWS HIT - As the rain continues, flooding continues to be a concern in Metro Detroit.

Though the area will see lulls in the rain, it will be raining more often than it is not raining Wednesday. A flood advisory (minor flooding) runs until 10 a.m. and a flood watch (potential for flooding) expires at 8 p.m. 

Rain totals still look to range from 1-2" with exceptions on either side. Typical summer storms drop a quarter inch to half an inch of rain.

This wet weather has residents who live in areas prone to flooding on edge. 

"This is comparable to those big storms and years past where we had that big flooding in Dearborn. We had big flooding in the Gross Pointes. We had big flooding in downtown Detroit," Derek Kevra, FOX 2's meteorologist said. 

The rain will wind down tonight with nothing more than an isolated shower or storm Thursday and Friday. 

Jury deliberations begin in Samantha Woll murder trial

This morning, the jury will start deliberating whether the man accused of killing Samantha Woll is guilty.

Jackson-Bolanos was charged with first-degree murder, home invasion, and lying to a peace officer after Woll was found stabbed to death outside her Detroit home last October.

During the trial, 29-year-old Jackson-Bolanos took the stand and testified that he did lie to police but insisted that he didn't kill Woll. According to his testimony, he was breaking into vehicles around Woll's neighborhood when he found her body. He said he touched the body, realized she was dead, and left instead of calling 911 because he was committing a crime and has a criminal history.

When police arrested Jackson-Bolanos and questioned him about finding the body, he lied.

"I stated that I did touch the body. I was telling the truth. I'm here today, sworn and affirmed, to tell the truth," Jackson-Bolanos said. "I may have lied in the past, but today I'm telling the truth; last week – telling the truth."

Trace amounts of Woll's blood were later found on Jackson-Bolanos's jacket.

"He's got her blood on multiple areas of his clothing and on the backpack that he's wearing that night - that is a coincidence that he cannot overcome," said Ryan Elsey, assistant prosecutor.

Body found in basement of Detroit house

A murder investigation is underway after a man was found dead in the basement of a Detroit house last month.

The body of Christopher Adams was found wrapped up in a mattress at a home on Pierson near Rouge Park. That home is currently listed for sale.

Multiple sources told FOX 2 Adams, who was known as Brightmo Cash, possibly died from blunt force trauma.

"I believe somebody was murdered in this home," said Esto Phillips, a community organizer. "Everybody keeps to their self, so that's why it’s very shocking to find out that somebody was even in an incident like that."

20 rescued from half-sunken boat on Detroit River

A boat that started sinking on the Detroit River on Sunday remains partially submerged. 

"I couldn’t believe there was a sunken boat right outside our apartment," said Detroit resident Chris Strutz.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Detroit, 20 people had to be rescued from the boat as it began sinking. During a routine safety boarding of the boat, the station crew noticed the engine compartment was flooded, according to the coast guard. They quickly got all the people off the boat to safety as it sank. 

It isn't clear what caused the boat to sink.

Suspended Detroit cop sues department

A Detroit police lieutenant who was suspended after telling a pro-Palestine protester "why don’t you just go back to Mexico?" is now suing the department.

On May 19, outside the NAACP Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner at Huntington Place in Detroit –that President Joe Biden spoke at– a pro-Palestine rally took place and Detroit police were there to make sure things remained peaceful.

Lt. Brandon Cole, 45, was there and began arguing with Palestinian protester and organizer Lexis Zeidan. The incident was captured on video and went viral. Detroit police also provided body-camera footage.

"Why don’t you just go back to Mexico? Cause that's where you were hanging out," Cole shouted at Zeidan. "That's why you were hanging out there and having a good time there."

Cole was suspended days after the incident. Detroit Police Chief James White even submitted a referral to the Board of Police Commissioners to have Cole's pay withheld.

Cole had been with the Detroit Police Department since 1999. And on Tuesday, he filed a lawsuit in federal court against White.

"(My comment) was more of me individualizing her," Cole said. "Could I have said some better wording? Absolutely, but at that particular moment in time, maybe I should’ve said 'How was your vacation in Mexico?"

Live on FOX 2

Daily Forecast

Rain is the big weather story today.

What else we're watching

1. A little over a year after Founders left Detroit, the newest craft brew endeavor from Eastern Market Brewing is ready to open. Elephant & Co.'s grand opening is Saturday.
2. One person was killed in a crash on M-5 in Novi on Tuesday night.
3. A mystery illness that has elements of Covid is sickening people around Metro Detroit.
4. Less than a year after Royal Oak's Jolly Pumpkin was rebranded into Southern-inspired restaurant Bandit Tavern, the eatery has closed.
5. A west Michigan lawmaker is among the first elected Democrats in the state to call on Joe Biden to drop his reelection campaign for president. Phil Skaggs wrote that he thought Biden served in office well, having lifted the nation out of the pandemic and helped revitalize industries and infrastructure.

US home prices hit another all-time high

Home prices in the United States have hit another all-time high, according to data shared by real estate company Redfin.

The median U.S. home sale price soared to $397,954 in June, which was a nearly 5% increase from the year prior, Redfin data shows.

It marks the highest on record, and the biggest increase since March, the company added. 

A monthly mortgage payment at that price, when accounting for the 6.86% median interest rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage, is now $2,749, according to FOX Business. That’s roughly $88 shy of April's record – thanks to a slight drop in mortgage rates.

"High mortgage rates and record-setting home prices have made affordability the biggest challenge in the housing market in 2024," Lisa Sturtevant, Bright MLS chief economist, told FOX Business.