Man arrested in fatal stabbing of Detroit synagogue president

(DETROIT) — A man has been arrested in Detroit and charged in the October fatal stabbing of synagogue president Samantha Woll, prosecutors and police said Wednesday.

Michael Manuel Jackson-Bolanos, 28, was picked up by police on Sunday as a person of interest. He was arraigned Wednesday on homicide, breaking and entering and commitment of assault, and lying to a peace officer charges, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy told reporters at a news conference.

Woll, who served as the president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, was found stabbed outside of her home on Oct. 21.

Worthy and Detroit Police Chief James White did not reveal many details about their probe, but they said they are investigating the case as a possible attempted break-in and there was no indication this was a hate crime.

“The evidence did not point to any evidence that they knew each other,” she said.

Worthy said that Jackson-Bolanos lied to investigators when they questioned him about larcenies in the area where Woll lived on the night she was killed. Officers didn’t arrest or charge Jackson-Bolonos in that case at the time, but kept monitoring him, according to White.

“We’re not going to rush this. We’re not going to make mistakes. We were methodical and tenacious in our investigation,” he said.

White said there was no risk to the community during the time they monitored the suspect.

Attorney information for Jackson-Bolanos was not immediately available. His next scheduled court date is Dec. 27.

Another person of interest was questioned by police in November but released and not charged.

Woll had a long career in local politics and worked with several Michigan elected officials.

She recently served as the political director of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s re-election campaign, and previously served as the deputy district director for U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.