DETROIT (WXYZ) — Michael Jackson-Bolanos nodded his head up and down as his defense attorney tried to explain how Samantha Woll's blood could have wound up on his jacket, saying it could be a matter of being at the "wrong place at the wrong time,"
"It's possible that he could have came across the body, maybe touched the body, and got blood.. if somebody leaned over and touched the body and had blood just on two spots," his defense attorney said.
Jackson-Bolanos is charged with felony murder, home invasion, and lying to a police officer.
On day two of testimony in the preliminary examination, several homicide investigators testified about a collection of surveillance videos used to identify their suspect in Woll's murder and some of his movements during a nearly five-hour window of time the early morning hours of October 21.
The videos came from surveillance cameras from businesses, schools, the city's Green Light system as well as a camera right outside Jackson-Bolanos' own home in an apartment building on Alexandrine Street in Detroit.
Sgt. Lance Sullivan testified about watching countless hours of surveillance videos to track their suspect from Woll's home a few minutes after 4:20 AM on October 21 when it's believed she was murdered based on motion detection from her security system.
Sullivan also testified about watching surveillance videos from around midnight when Jackson-Bolanos left his apartment and tracking his movements to a school just east of the murder scene.
There is no video available to show anyone entering or exiting Woll's home. There is also no video of her leaving her home to get help after being stabbed eight times and collapsing near a sidewalk.
Phone records also put Jackson-Bolanos near the scene, but his defense attorney suggested that Woll was already dead when his client was in the area.
A small amount of Woll's blood was found on a jacket belonging to Jackson-Bolanos.
"My hope is that justice is done here. That that's really my fervent prayer because Sam was just such a wonderful person," said Phillip Neuman, a friend of Samantha Woll who also worked alongside her during her work as a leader of a Detroit Synagogue.
Judge Kenneth King not only found there to be enough evidence to order Jackson-Bolanos to stand trial on felony murder, home invasion, and lying to a police officer but also first-degree murder.
Judge King acknowledged that that the amount of blood found on the suspect's jacket is small considering the amount of blood found at the crime scene. King said, "This place was literally covered in blood."
Jackson-Bolanos is set to be arraigned in Third Circuit Court at the end of the month.
