A suspect in the slaying of prominent Jewish leader Samantha Woll is in custody, Detroit police announced Wednesday.
The Detroit Police Department said in a statement that they have taken a suspect into custody for the death of Woll, the president of a Detroit area synagogue.
The statement does not name the suspect, saying “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.”
Woll, 40, was found fatally stabbed Oct. 21 outside her home in Detroit’s Lafayette Park neighborhood, triggering immediate concerns that this slaying could be tied to recent tensions surrounding the Israel-Hamas war.
Authorities across the U.S. have voiced their concerns that Middle East violence could lead to attacks on Jewish, Muslim and Arab Americans.
But all the early evidence, Detroit Police Chief James E. White has said, points against antisemitism as a motive in Woll’s murder.
Woll, board president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, attended a wedding the night of Oct. 20 and left the festivities at 12:30 a.m., police said.
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She was stabbed inside her home and stumbled outside where she collapsed and died, officials said.
State Sen. Stephanie Chang posted a picture of herself, Woll and the newlyweds at the celebration.
Police didn’t make any immediate connections between the wedding and the slaying — other than to say Woll appeared to be in normal, good spirits when she went home.
Friends of the victim said she was widely liked and couldn’t imagine who would want to harm her.
“She was one of those people that lots and lots of people have told me they had a very special, personal relationship with Sam like they were this special person,” Woll’s rabbi, Ariana Silverman, told NBC News on Monday.
“And it’s amazing how many people feel that way and they’re all right. Like she actually did. She had an incredibly special personal relationship with a lot of people and it’s it takes an incredible person to do that.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
