Police charge 28-year-old man in killing of Jewish leader Samantha Woll

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced the charges at a press conference on Wednesday

Samantha Woll, president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, was found dead outside her Detroit home on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023.

Samantha Woll, president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, was found dead outside her Detroit home on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023.

Prosecutors have charged a 28-year-old Detroit man in the murder of metro Detroit Jewish leader Samantha Woll. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced the charges at a press conference on Wednesday.

Michael Manuel Jackson-Bolanos, 28, is charged with homicide, home invasion and lying to police officers. The suspect is accused of killing Woll during a home invasion, but the two had no prior history, according to Worthy.

Mugshot of Michael Jackson-Bolanos
Michael Jackson-Bolanos

Detroit police confirmed that Jackson-Bolanos is the same individual that was arrested on Sunday as a person of interest.

Worthy reaffirmed the Detroit Police Department’s prior statements that they do not believe the stabbing death of Woll was a hate crime.

“There’s not a shred of evidence that points to the fact this was a hate crime,” Worthy said at the press conference.

Law officials also stated that the suspect was involved in multiple larcenies in the area.

Woll, 40, was president of Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue and a pillar of metro Detroit’s Jewish community. She was found dead outside her Detroit home the morning of Oct. 21, hours after returning from a wedding, which police say she left around midnight.

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  • Jenny Sherman
    Jenny Sherman is 101.9 WDET's Digital Editor. She received her bachelor’s in journalism from Michigan State University and has worked for more than a decade as a reporter and editor for various media outlets throughout metro Detroit.