Samantha Woll murder: Why her family was convinced Michael Jackson-Bolanos would be convicted

DETROIT (FOX 2) - It was more than a year ago that Samantha Woll, a beloved Jewish leader in Detroit, was found murdered at her own home. But the man who police believe killed her wasn't convicted after a lengthy trial this summer. 

According to Detroit Police, it wasn't a mentally unstable ex or Jewish hate crime. Police said it was a shocking crime with no justice for Woll. Police built their case and presented evidence in court – but couldn't get a conviction. And it may be because of some baffling legal decisions.

It was early in the morning on Oct. 21, 2023, when a neighbor found Woll stabbed to death lying on the sidewalk in front of her home in Detroit. There were no witnesses, no explanation, and no one could imagine who would have done such a thing.

Samantha Woll's family ‘1,000% sure’ of conviction

"I still didn’t believe it. I wouldn’t believe it until I saw her," her mom, Margo Woll said.

Detroit police launched a massive investigation that involved Michigan State Police and FBI investigators after her daughter's body was found. In total, they questioned over 100 people in Samantha’s personal and professional life. They said the evidence led them to one man: Michael Jackson-Bolanos.

Monica Woll Rosen, Samantha's sister, said the family was confident when the trial started.

"We were 1,000% sure this person would be convicted," Monica said. "Prosecutors and police told us they had never had so much evidence against somebody."

For a month, Michael Jackson-Bolanos was on trial for the murder of Samantha Woll. He was captured on camera at her home minutes before the murder. He happened to be carrying a knife at the time he was arrested. Blood was also discovered on his jacket, and he even admitted to lying to police about everything – until he took the stand.

Despite that, the jury found him not guilty of premeditated murder but deadlocked on felony murder and home invasion charges. Instead, he was convicted of lying to police.

The verdict gutted the family and stunned police and prosecutors. 

Jackson-Bolanos was sentenced to 18 months for lying to police. During that sentencing, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Margaret Van Houten delivered another blow by dismissing the felony murder and home invasion charges. That means the prosecution cannot retry him for the murder unless new evidence is discovered.

"That was a blessing in disguise," Jackson-Bolanos' attorney Brian Brown said.

The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office filed an appeal. If not reversed, it could prevent the Woll family from getting justice. 

So what went wrong in the trial? 

Former U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider, who was not involved in the case, weighed in and said the prosecution may have overdone it.

"In my experience, if you present too much evidence to the jury, (they) get bored with that, and they can’t focus on the trees when they are looking through this gigantic forest," Schneider said.

A convoluted confession: ‘I am convinced I murdered my girlfriend’

FOX 2's Taryn Asher met with the jury foreman who said they got stuck on Samantha's ex-boyfriend, Jeffrey Herbstman.

Herbstman was called by the prosecution on the fourth day of the trial. On Nov. 7, 2023, he dialed 911 from a West Michigan hotel parking lot. He claimed on the call that he believed he may have killed his ex.

"I began to believe that I was responsible for her death – that I had somehow killed her and didn't remember," he said while on the stand.

Explaining the call, Herbstman says he was in the midst of a full-blown panic attack brought on by a double dose of Auvelity, an antidepressant, and four hits of marijuana. 

When police arrived during his call, he first told police he had a pocket knife in the car with him.

Panic attacks are a side effect of Auvelity. So, could it have brought on this convoluted confession?

"I am convinced I murdered my girlfriend and I don’t remember it," Herbstman said during his arrest.

"Where does your girlfriend stay at?" the officer asked.

"She lives in Detroit, stays in Detroit," Herbstman said.

"What makes you think that you killed her?" the officer said.

"Because I had the motive and opportunity and I may be trying to outsmart people."

This 911 call came after Detroit Police had already questioned him. But when investigators heard the bizarre confession, they traveled straight to Kalamazoo to question him again. Then, they searched for evidence everywhere both inside and outside his Detroit home. 

They searched the fire pit, looked at surrounding cameras, and reviewed his cell phone. Detectives found nothing incriminating.

But what if Herbstman was able to outsmart investigators? What if he left his phone at home? That seed of doubt was planted by Brown during the trial.

"Could this be Herbstman? I don’t know. He looks very similar to me. This person running from the scene looks like Herbstman. (Similar) glasses, hair cut, even the coat he is wearing," Brown said in court.

Brown argued that if the man on surveillance at 1:24 a.m. was Herbstman, he could have stabbed Samantha and fled. This was the last motion detected in her home until 4:20 a.m., when she may have regained consciousness and tried to escape or get help before collapsing on the sidewalk.

Detroit Police Lt. Matthew Bray was the lead investigator on the case and spoke with FOX 2 about the investigation. The man that Brown referenced in the video was running away from Samantha's home towards the park. When they checked every camera in the area, that person was never spotted again.

Herbstman was interviewed and considered a suspect before police said there wasn't enough evidence. So why bring someone to trial who confessed to the crime and was then granted immunity?

"He wasn’t ruled out (as a suspect) immediately. (It was a) long investigation before he was granted immunity," Bray said. "It is important for us to demonstrate to the jury why we believe he is not the person involved in the incident. To exclude him would leave a gaping question for the jury."

A crime of opportunity or passion?

Investigators maintain that the defense's timeline of events doesn't add up. They said this wasn't a crime of passion – but one of opportunity that went wrong all because a door was mistakenly left unlocked.

"A fatal mistake but everybody…we have all left our doors unlocked when we didn’t mean to, but no one expects to be killed for it," Monica said.

The morning Samantha was killed, she had just returned from a wedding. She went inside, changed clothes, and stepped outside to vape. When she went back, she didn't close the back door. Evidence shows she went to relax on the couch and turned on Netflix around 1:24 a.m. before her phone went idle and she fell asleep.

Meanwhile, at 4 a.m., Jackson-Bolanos was spotted just 150 feet from Samantha's home where he later admitted he was checking for unlocked car doors. Police believe he went from here to Joliet Place and found Samantha Woll’s door unlocked.

The prosecution claims that, 20 minutes later, he entered the home, startling Samantha from her sleep on the couch. They argue that he panicked and grabbed a knife during a struggle and stabbed her eight times – mostly in the back of her head and neck as if she was trying to run away. 

The next time we see Jackson-Bolanos on video is at 4:23 a.m. in front of Hollywood Casino in Greektown. 

An official with the security company ADT testified the motion detector at Samantha's home was triggered at 4:20 a.m. and stayed in idle mode until 4:22 a.m., giving Jackson-Bolanos two minutes to stab his victim and a minute and 25 seconds to reach the corner of Chrysler and Monroe, about a quarter of a mile away 

Police tested the route from that night at different speeds and say either walking or running, like the suspect was seen doing that night, took the same amount of time.

With police saying their timeline works, what about the evidence? A key piece was the North Face jacket that Jackson-Bolanos' girlfriend admitted she washed before it was seized as evidence. 

Wednesday night, in our second part, we dive into the blood on the jacket. How much was it that linked Jackson-Bolanos to the case?  And there are two wildly different stories for how it got there.