Police arrest ‘person of interest’ in murder of Jewish leader Samantha Woll

Detroit police have arrested a new person of interest in the fatal stabbing of metro Detroit Jewish leader Samantha Woll, according to a police statement released Sunday.

The news comes a month after the initial suspect in custody was released by police without charges filed.

No further details have been given by the department, “in an effort to ensure the integrity of this ongoing investigation,” the statement read. “Additional information will be released in the near future.”

Woll, 40, was president of Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue and a pillar of metro Detroit’s Jewish community. She was found dead outside her Detroit home the morning of Oct. 21, hours after returning from a wedding, which police say she left around midnight.

In a press conference held by the Detroit Police Department two days after her death, Detroit Police Chief James White said he was “confident” the killing was not a hate crime. On Nov. 8, White announced that police had a suspect in custody, adding that it did not “represent the conclusion of our work in this case.”

The suspect was released three days later, adding to further speculation surrounding the high-profile case amid increasing incidents of antisemitism as tensions surrounding the Israel-Hamas war rages on.

Woll was known by many as a “bridge-builder” and social justice activist who was active in metro Detroit’s Jewish community and local politics — serving as a former aide to Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin and a campaign staffer for Attorney General Dana Nessel.