DETROIT — Prosecutors and a defense attorney for a Detroit man on trial for murdering Jewish leader Samantha Woll argued Wednesday morning about the admissibility of testimony from a forensic pathologist who said Woll’s autopsy was incomplete and that the pattern of her injuries suggested “emotionally charged circumstances.”

Brian Brown, the attorney for defendant Michael Jackson-Bolanos, wanted to put his own forensic pathologist, Dr. Ljubisa Dragovic, on the witness stand to supplement testimony given by Wayne County Assistant Medical Examiner Nicole Croom about Woll’s death.

Croom said Woll died of eight stab wounds to the head and neck. She was found dead outside her Lafayette Park townhouse on Oct. 21, 2023 by a neighbor.

But Wayne Circuit Judge Margaret Van Houten determined it isn't a forensic pathologist’s job to opine about someone’s emotional state during a murder. At issue was Dragovic’s assertion that Woll’s murder appeared to be “emotionally charged.”

She said it was not a forensic pathologist’s job to opine about someone’s emotional state during a murder.

“Multiple stab wounds give the impression that whoever carried out this act, apparently was in some degree of anger or emotionally charged,” Dragovic told Van Houten out of the presence of the jury. “I wasn’t there, I cannot assess that. This is what I assessed and additional experts should be brought in to evaluate this. I am only pointing out this pattern offers itself as a result of some emotionally charged situation. … I am not inferring anything about the state of mind of anyone under the circumstances.”

Jackson-Bolanos is being tried on first-degree murder and felony murder during a home invasion charges in connection with Woll’s death. Wednesday marked the 14th day of his trial.

From his opening statement, Brown has argued that it would've "virtually impossible" for his client to allegedly commit the murder in the two-minute window prosecutors believe it happened in, and that Woll’s death was more of a crime of passion than a killing by a stranger.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, have focused their case largely on surveillance video that shows Jackson-Bolanos near Woll's home the night of the murder and a jacket he wore that night that had small amount of her blood on it, according to DNA analysis.

Before Van Houten made a decision on whether to allow Dragovic to testify about Woll's murder being "emotionally charged," prosecutors called a rebuttal witness, Wayne County Interim Deputy Medical Examiner Oscar Reyes. He told Van Houten that medical examiners could not give their opinions on the emotional state of the person who caused the injuries. He said it was not appropriate to look at autopsy photos and opine on the attacker’s emotional state.

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