‘Person of interest’ taken into custody amid investigation into Detroit synagogue leader Samantha Woll’s killing, police say
By Artemis Moshtaghian, CNN
(CNN) — A “person of interest” has been taken into custody as the investigation into the October killing of Detroit synagogue president Samantha Woll continues, the Detroit Police Department said Sunday night.
Police did not provide further details on the person “to ensure the integrity of this ongoing investigation,” the department said in a statement, but added more information would be released in the near future. The latest update comes a month after a person who was being held in connection with Woll’s death was released without charges.
Woll, the board president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, was found outside her home with multiple stab wounds early October 21, police have said.
Investigators had been treating Woll’s death as arising from a domestic dispute and not extremism, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation previously told CNN.
And despite Woll’s prominent position in the Jewish community, no evidence had surfaced suggesting the killing was motivated by antisemitism, Detroit Police Chief James E. White previously said.
Still, her killing rattled Jewish community members who were still grappling with Hamas’ deadly October 7 attacks on Israel and the ensuing violence.
White said in October that police had “a number of people that give us interest,” but didn’t share further details. Police have also said they believed the assailant acted alone.
Woll had been her “normal positive and pleasant self” at the wedding just hours before her killing, White said at the time, citing police interviews. “By all accounts, she was not in any discomfort, in any distress.”
At a funeral service earlier this year, family and friends remembered Woll’s kindness, generosity and dedication to helping others.
“Your soul was beautiful and pure,” Woll’s younger sister Monica Woll Rosen said as she stood next to her white casket. “You so deeply wanted peace for this world. You fought for everyone, regardless of who they were or where they came from. You were the definition of a leader.”
Woll was president of the board of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, served on the ritual committee, worked on the building’s renovation and reopening and spearheaded fundraising, among other responsibilities, Rabbi Ariana Silverman recalled at her funeral.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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CNN’s Nouran Salahieh, Omar Jimenez and Dakin Andone contributed to this report.
