Samantha Woll and suspect Michael Manuel Jackson-Bolanos
The public and those who knew her breathed a sigh of relief earlier this month when Detroit Police announced they had a suspect in the Oct. 21 fatal stabbing of Samantha Woll, the president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue.
Now, defense attorney Brian Brown is insisting his client, Michael Jackson-Bolanos, 28, is innocent.
"I haven't gotten any material from the prosecutors yet," Brown said, according to the Detroit News. "I believe once I get everything and these proceedings start, we'll show that the evidence is all circumstantial, and that my client had no involvement in this crime."
In an email to the News, assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Maria Miller stated: "Brown has some of the discovery at this point. However, there is outstanding discovery that he will be receiving."
The News reports:
During Jackson-Bolanos' Dec. 13 arraignment, Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Elsey said the evidence against the defendant included a jacket found in Jackson-Bolanos' girlfriend's home that was stained with Woll's blood. Elsey said other evidence included dozens of surveillance cameras, cellphone data, DNA and a digital trail leading from the suspect to Woll’s home.
Last month, police arrested Woll's ex-boyfriend but days later released him without filing charges. Authorities do not believe he had anything to do with the slaying.
