A man being held in connection with the fatal stabbing of Detroit synagogue leader Samantha Woll was charged with murder, prosecutors said Wednesday.
The suspect — identified as Michael Jackson-Bolanos, 28, of Detroit — had been taken into custody Sunday as part of the investigation into Woll's death outside her home in October, said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy. She added that there are "no facts to suggest" that he knew Woll or that her killing was motivated by antisemitism.
"There's not a shred of evidence to suggest this was a hate crime," Worthy said at a news conference.
Jackson-Bolanos also faces additional charges of breaking and entering without permission and lying to a peace officer. He pleaded not guilty during an arraignment Wednesday and was returned to jail without bond.
Detroit Police Chief James White said the suspect came on police's radar a few weeks ago and was being investigated for larcenies in the area of Woll's home, but he "timed out," and authorities had to release him.
"Once he was released, we kept an eye on him until we had enough to ultimately make an arrest," White said.
He declined to discuss specifics of the case, including what led police to determine how the suspect was linked to Woll's death. Prosecutors said the investigation included witness interviews, hours of security footage, cellular data and forensic evidence.
Worthy said her office had informed Woll's family that an arrest had been made. The family, through its lawyer, thanked Detroit police's homicide task force.
"Through their dedication and tireless efforts we firmly believe that they have successfully solved this senseless crime. We cannot thank them enough," the Woll family said.
The announcement over the weekend of a person in custody was the second in as many months after investigators said in November they were holding someone — then released them three days later without further explanation. Worthy said Wednesday they were not the same person.
Friends and loved ones of Woll, who had served as board president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue in Detroit and worked in Democratic politics in Michigan, said they were hopeful that investigators could find her killer.
Investigators continued to reiterate there was no information suggesting the 40-year-old's death was a hate crime, although Woll was a high-profile member of the city's Jewish community and her slaying came amid heightened tensions and growing antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents in the U.S. following the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Woll had attended a wedding before leaving about 12:30 a.m. Oct. 21, police said. About six hours later, a 911 call was placed to report a person lying on the ground unresponsive outside Woll's home in Detroit's Lafayette Park neighborhood, with a trail of blood leading inside.
Investigators believe Woll was attacked inside the home, then stumbled outside and collapsed in the yard, White previously told reporters. The home's front door was found "ajar and unlocked, and a significant amount of blood was inside," police added.
Worthy said Wednesday that the medical examiner found Woll had suffered "multiple sharp force wounds with a straight edge cutting instrument." Authorities also allege Jackson-Bolanos lied to the police by making statements he knew were "false and misleading relating to the investigation of the case."
Brian Brown, Jackson-Bolanos' defense attorney, said Wednesday that police were under pressure to find a suspect in the case because of the publicity, and questioned why another person was initially held and then released.
"I don't necessarily agree with the charges," Brown told The Associated Press. "We'll wait for the evidence."
White said in a statement Monday that the latest person of interest had been detained "within an hour of the new information surfacing because investigators were familiar with their whereabouts." There was no immediate danger to the community because the person was under "continuous investigation," he added.
"The public must understand that in the context of complex homicide investigations, it is not unusual for there to be a number of suspects, persons of interest, investigative leads, and evidentiary follow-ups that must be thoroughly examined before investigators are ready to submit a warrant to the prosecutor's office," White said.
Jackson-Bolanos has previously been known to law enforcement and was sentenced to prison in 2014 related to a stolen property/motor vehicle offense, and was discharged in 2018, state prison records show. He was also sentenced to probation in 2019 for the same offense and was discharged in 2021, according to prison records.
Before the identification of a suspect Wednesday, friends of Woll said they were buoyed by the news of a person of interest in custody and hoped to make sense of why she was killed.
"Everyone is very eager for the perpetrator to be found and brought to justice," said Rabbi Asher Lopatin, the executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council/AJC, a nonprofit organization in metro Detroit with which Woll was involved. "It will not, of course, bring back Sam, but it would provide some closure, which is important to all those who knew her and for the entire community."
Ariana Mentzel, a treasurer of the Jewish Community Relations Council/AJC, said the suspect was not known to her. She said it was important that justice is brought to Woll and her family.
"I don't know that we'll ever feel closure, but some answers I think would be a little bit comforting," Mentzel said.
In a statement Thursday, the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue said it would "hold Sam's family in our heart as our community continues to grieve. We know that Sam's memory will live on as a blessing to us all."
