Police release suspect in killing of Jewish leader Samantha Woll: report

A man who was arrested in relation to the stabbing death of Jewish leader Samantha Woll in Detroit last month was released by police late Friday, according to reports. 

The suspect, whose identity has not been released by police, was arrested in Kalamazoo Tuesday and questioned for 72 hours after making an ambiguous statement to police about the Oct. 21 killing, The Detroit News reported, citing four police sources.

Few details about the statement have been released and The Detroit News reported that the man’s declaration alone would not be enough to bring charges. 

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The man who had been detained is understood to have been an acquaintance of Woll’s, the news outlet reported.

The Detroit Police Department did not immediately return a Fox News Digital request for comment.

Woll, the president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue and an avid supporter of Israel, was attacked Oct. 21 inside her Lafayette Park home before stumbling outside and collapsing on her front lawn, according to police. 

A person found her unresponsive at about 6:30 a.m. and called 911. There were no signs of forced entry, and she had her phone and ID with her.

Many speculate Woll had been the victim of a hate crime amid tensions over the Israel-Hamas war, although those claims have been rejected by police. The Detroit area has the largest Arabic-speaking population in the U.S.

Two days after the slaying, Detroit Police Chief James E. White held a press conference and told reporters very little. 

“We believe this incident was not motivated by antisemitism, and this suspect acted alone,” he said, declining to comment on a possible motive.

In announcing the arrest on X, White wrote that details of the investigation “will remain confidential.”

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Experts previously told Fox News Digital that it is unusual to withhold the name of a suspect after that person has been taken into custody, adding another layer of mystery to an already puzzling case.

“There are a host of possible reasons to withhold the name. I can think of many. Does it happen often? As often as a lunar eclipse,” said Joan Illuzzi-Orbon, a former senior Manhattan prosecutor.

Illuzzi-Orbon, who secured a rape conviction against Harvey Weinstein in 2020, pointed to Woll’s political connections. 

In addition to her Jewish activism, she had worked for Michigan State Sen. Stephanie Chang, Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin and Attorney General Dana Nessel — all Democrats.

“It could be someone in law enforcement or someone who is an informant for the government, and it could endanger him or the people the suspect was involved with. Maybe the victim was a government informant,” she said. 

The prosecutor added that police might protect the name of a suspect if releasing it would pose a legitimate threat to the suspect’s family.