A suspect who was taken into custody last week in connection with the murder of Detroit synagogue leader Samantha Woll was reportedly released 72 hours later. The man was arrested last Tuesday, November 7, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He was freed without being charged.
Sources close to the Detroit Free Press claimed that the man was close to Woll, and even attended her funeral after her murder. Last month, Samantha, 40, was found fatally stabbed outside of her home.
Police refused to name the suspect after he was arrested, and said additional information would be revealed “at the appropriate time.” “While this is an encouraging development in our desire to bring closure for Ms. Woll’s family, it does not represent the conclusion of our work in this case,” Detroit Police Chief James White said in a statement at the time, according to New York Post. ”The details of the investigation will remain confidential at this time to ensure the integrity of the important steps that remain.”
The murder of Samantha Woll
Samantha was discovered stabbed to death outside of her home in the city’s Lafayette Park neighbourhood, east of downtown, on October 21. Police reportedly responded to a 911 call about a person who was unresponsive early in the morning. Samantha had been attending a wedding the night before, and is said to have left at around 12:30 am. She may have been stabbed inside the house, following which she stumbled outside, police believe.
Samantha was the president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue. She previously also worked for Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin and on the re-election campaign of Attorney General Dana Nessel.
James previously said no evidence suggests that the murder was a hate crime. “We believe that this particular incident was not motivated by anti-semitism, and that this suspect acted alone,” he told reporters at a press conference on October 23. At the time, investigators said they were “just short” of naming the suspect.
