(WXYZ) — The jury has delivered a partial verdict Thursday in the murder trial for Michael Jackson-Bolanos, who was accused of killing Detroit synagogue leader Samantha Woll.
The jury was on day five of deliberations. They deadlocked on the felony murder charge, found him not guilty of premeditated murder, they were deadlocked on the home invasion charge and found Jackson-Bolanos guilty of concealing facts to police.
Defense attorney Brian Brown says he and his team were frustrated with the partial verdict.
"We feel the jury should have come back with a not guilty on felony murder and home invasion. They got it right on the premeditated murder but counts one and three, believe there should have been an acquittal on that one also," said Brown. "I just feel the police didn’t do a thorough investigation. There were a lot of stones that were left unturned. There was a lot of evidence and questions that they did not have the answer to but had they did a thorough investigation they would’ve got the answer to those questions."
Brown maintains his client is innocent and police got the wrong guy. The defense attorney pointed to Woll's ex-boyfriend, who days after her murder confessed to killing her, as a better suspect.
"I’ve never seen anything like that where somebody admits to a murder and then is able to recant their testimony under some type of delusion," said Brown outside of the courthouse Thursday. "I believe my client was an easy target considering who he was. I guess that story sold a little better than the ex boyfriend."
Woll's ex boyfriend later told police he believed he was suffering a psychotic break as a result of a medication and marijuana use. The prosecution says they were able to clear Woll's ex boyfriend as a suspect because there was no evidence tying him to the crime scene while there was circumstantial evidence placing Jackson-Bolanos there.
Attorney Todd Flood, who has followed the case, says he was not surprised by the partial verdict. He says given the severity of the remaining charges, there's almost a guarantee the prosecution will retry the case.
"There are exceptions to this rule but the general rule of thumb is the case on a retrial usually gets better for the prosecution. They get to clean up certain things. They get to make sure they put the case and chief in the way they want it, to clean it up and see where there may have been some weaknesses," said Flood. "It’s going to be a laborious process because how many peoplehave already heard about this case? How many jurors, potential jurors, have already heard about this case? So it’s going to be a laborious process but they’ll get a fair and impartial jury."
At the end of today's hearing, the judge set a pretrial hearing on the two remaining counts, on July 25th at 12 pm. At this point, prosecutors could decide not to retry the case. However, they have not yet commented following today's developments.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy issued the following statement after the partial verdict:
“First, I want to thank the jury for their time, dedication, and attention to this case. We were hopeful that a decision could reached today, but we will press on for justice for the Woll’s and will determine our next course of action at the pre-trial hearing."
The defense says they are planning to file a motion for bond which could result in Jackson-Bolanos walking free. However legal experts say because felony murder is one of the remaining charges, it's unlikely for a judge to grant bond or set a low bond.
VIDEO: Listen to the verdict read in court:
Woll was stabbed to death at her apartment in the Lafayette Park neighborhood of Detroit in the early morning hours of Oct. 21. Initially, police arrested her ex-boyfriend, Jeffrey Herbstam, who took the stand during the trial.
VIDEO: Watch Samantha Woll's ex-boyfriend testify during the trial
On Nov. 7, Herbstman made a frantic 911 call while he was staying in Kalamazoo for work. Body-worn police camera footage showed Herbstman in a panic. He told police he was having a psychotic break after taking medication for depression and marijuana.
In the video, Herbstman can be heard saying he thinks he killed Woll. However, he said he had no recollection of it.
Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Elsey prosecuted the case, saying that Jackson-Bolanos was in the neighborhood looking for cars to steal from. The prosecution alleged that Jackson-Bolanos saw Woll’s door was open after she returned home from a wedding and robbed her.
Prosecutors alleged that it was during the robbery that Jackson-Bolanos stabbed her eight times, killing her.
During the trial, Jackson-Bolanos took the stand and admitted to being in the neighborhood, but said he discovered Woll’s body around 4:20 a.m. and the fled the area when he realized she was dead.
VIDEO: Jackson-Bolanos takes the stand during the trial:
Michael Bullota, a former prosecutor and now a criminal defense attorney, told 7 News Detroit on Wednesday that “If the jury cannot come to a conclusion as to any one count then the judge will declare a mistrial on that one count and then it will be up to the prosecutor to decide whether the prosecution wants to retry the case.”
With it being a murder case, Bullota said there’s no question the prosecution will want to retry the case.
