DETROIT (WXYZ) — Jurors said they are deadlocked and having difficulty reaching a verdict in the Samantha Woll murder trial. However, deliberations will resume Monday morning.
Judge Margaret Van Houten read deadlock jury instructions to the jury during a brief hearing Friday afternoon.
"You've returned from deliberations indicating you believe that you cannot reach a verdict. I'm going to ask you to please return to the jury room and resume your deliberations in the hope that after further discussion you will be able to reach a verdict," the judge said.
Watch our coverage of the first day of jury deliberations below:
She then told the jurors to request any transcripts they may need, which will then be prepared for when they return on Monday.
Van Houten told the court during the hearing that the jury had requested a transcript, which they had just completed preparing when the jury sent a note saying they could not reach a verdict on at least some of the charges.
Woll, the leader of a Jewish synagogue in downtown Detroit, was killed in late October at her Detroit condo. Her accused killer, Michael Jackson-Bolanos, testified in his own defense and said he's a car thief but not a murderer.
Watch Jackson-Bolanos' first time taking the stand in the trial below:
He said he was only breaking into cars and that he discovered Woll's body, touched her to check to see if she was alive and then headed to his girlfriend's home on foot. Investigators said they found Woll's blood on the suspect's jacket.
Jackson-Bolanos said he didn't report the discovery because he didn't want police to assume he killed her.
Jurors said they're having a tough time reaching a verdict as they review the circumstantial evidence and witness testimony.
"I along with the rest of the Jewish community and many, many others are really following it closely," rabbi Asher Lopatin said.
Lopatin, who's the director of community relations for the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor, served alongside Woll in the Jewish community and said her untimely death has left a huge void.
"She was someone that was just so committed to social justice. I just hope that in this trial, justice is done and that'll be a small, small comfort to know that at least justice has been carried out, whatever the determination is and that we did whatever we could to find out who did this terrible, terrible crime," Lopatin said.
Watch our coverage of closing arguments below:
Police initially zeroed in on her ex-boyfriend, Jeffrey Herbstman, who took the stand 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.
VIDEO: Samantha Woll's ex-boyfriend testifies at murder trial
Investigators ruled him out. In court, the prosecutor said there’s no evidence linking Herbstman to the crime scene.
Investigators said there’s plenty of evidence tying Jackson-Bolanos to Woll’s murder. It's circumstantial evidence that includes surveillance footage of him breaking into cars, his cellphone location in the area near her apartment and Woll’s blood found on his jacket.
Police arrested Jackson-Bolanos on Dec. 10. In interrogation footage, he initially claimed he wasn’t in the area and that he wasn't a thief.
RAW VIDEO: Prosecutors play interrogation video of Michael Jackson-Bolanos in court
Defense attorney Brian Brown isn't convinced Woll's ex-boyfriend is innocent.
Deliberations resume Monday morning.
