DETROIT – A person of interest was in police custody in connection with the October killing of Samantha Woll, a well-known leader in Detroit’s Jewish community, Detroit police confirmed Sunday.
Detroit police shared few details late Sunday, Dec. 10, when confirming in a statement that a person of interest was in their custody “in furtherance of the investigation into the murder of Samantha Woll.” Authorities said they would release more details at a later date to “ensure the integrity” of the investigation.
Police did not provide the identity of the person of interest. It was unknown if this person of interest was the same person who was taken into custody in November, and then released days later without any charges related to Woll’s murder.
Sources said in November that the initial person taken into custody, identified only as a man, remained one of the, if not the, biggest suspects in the attack that killed Woll at her home in Detroit. Woll was believed to be stabbed inside her home after returning home from a wedding in the early morning hours of Oct. 21 before stumbling outside, where she was found later by witnesses.
Detroit police would not say whether Woll left the wedding alone, or what exactly they link led up to the stabbing. Officials have said that Woll wasn’t behaving abnormally when she left the wedding for home.
When a person of interest was taken into custody last month, police offered few details about the person and their believed role in Woll’s killing. Police did make it clear then that the arrest did not signify the end of the investigation.
Detroit police said in November that investigators still had a lot of work to do. No other arrests had been made in the past month.
The last person of interest
A man believed to be involved in the fatal stabbing of Woll on Oct. 21 was taken into custody by police on Nov. 8. He was taken into custody in the Kalamazoo area on the west side of the state, and then brought back to the Detroit area.
He was released without charges days later.
Sources told Local 4 that the man, whose identity was not made public, was taken into custody based on statements he provided to detectives. Those sources say the man was released because the statements he made were ambiguous and open to more than one interpretation, which is not enough for authorities to request murder charges.
The suspect also reportedly stopped talking to police by the time he was transported back to the Detroit area, and instead hired an attorney. He was eventually released without being charged.
Sources said the man doesn’t have any sort of criminal record. The man’s relationship to Woll was unknown.
What happened to Samantha Woll
Samantha Woll, who also went by Sam, was found stabbed to death the morning of Saturday, Oct. 21 outside her Lafayette Park home in Detroit, just east of Downtown Detroit. A witness found Woll lying on the ground unresponsive at about 6:30 a.m. that day.
First responders arrived at the scene and saw Woll had been stabbed several times. She was declared dead at the scene.
Police said a “trail of blood” led from where Woll’s body was found back to her home. Police believe the woman was attacked in her home sometime after 12:30 a.m., when she arrived home from a wedding, and that she stumbled outside after the attack.
Investigators confirmed that there were no signs of forced entry at Woll’s home. She was found with her wallet and phone on her. Sources have said there were no defensive wounds on Woll, but police would not confirm that detail.
In the weeks following Woll’s killing, Detroit police said they have been interviewing “many” people that are of interest, but not necessarily considered persons of interest in police terms, as they work to disqualify potential suspects. Because Woll attended a wedding just hours before her death, it’s believed investigators have a significant number of people they must speak with.
Detroit police Chief James White previously said law enforcement are being “very, very careful” about what information they share with the public amid the investigation. Officials previously said that some details were only known to police and to the suspect, and that they needed it to stay that way.
So far, we know that police have been conducting many interviews, and that there were several people they were interested in, but no one suspect had been identified prior to the arrest made in November. Detroit police said in November that the investigation was very much ongoing, but appealed to community members to come forward with information that could help.
A $15,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest in Woll’s death.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-Speak Up, or by submitting a tip online right here. All tips made to Crime Stoppers are completely anonymous, even with rewards involved.
Woll was known for her role as president of the board of directors for Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue near Capitol Park, and was well known in the Detroit community. She was also a campaign staffer for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, and a former aide to Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin.