Samantha Woll murder: Will Michael Jackson-Bolanos be re-tried after mistrial?
DETROIT (FOX 2) - During a court hearing Thursday, prosecutors are expected to share what happens next after a mistrial was declared in the case against the man accused of killing Samantha Woll.
After a trial that lasted weeks, jurors deadlocked on several charges against Michael Jackson-Bolanos, leading to the mistrial. Prosecutors now have the choice of re-trying the case or dropping the charges that led to the deadlock.
Samantha Woll murder: Michael Jackson-Bolanos jury deadlocked, mistrial declared on murder charge
The jury in the trial of Michael Jackson-Bolanos is hopelessly deadlocked on two of the four charges after five days of deliberations.
Jackson-Bolanos was charged with felony murder, first-degree murder, home invasion, and lying to a peace officer in connection with the October 2023 stabbing of Woll.
Last week, a jury convicted Jackson-Bolanos of lying to police and found him not guilty of premeditated murder. However, they could not come to an agreement on the remaining charges - felony murder and home invasion.
In court on Thursday, Judge Margaret Van Houten ruled that it would be another two weeks before there would be a decision on whether to re-try Jackson-Bolanos.
Jackson-Bolanos has confessed that he was out stealing from cars at the time of Woll's murder, but says he is not a killer. He took the strand to defend his innocence during the trial.
While on the stand, he admitted seeing Woll's body lying on the ground as he walked around the area the night of Oct. 21. He said he went up to her and checked to see if she was alive, but did not call police when he realized she was dead due to him stealing items from vehicles that night.
Prosecutors say drops of blood on his jacket and cell phone location data linked him to the crime.