Detroit Police told reporters on Monday there is no indication that Samantha Woll’s death was the result of an antisemitic hate crime, despite not having identified a key suspect.
Woll, the board president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue (IADS), was found stabbed to death outside of her Lafayette Park home on Saturday. Woll also founded the Muslim-Jewish Forum of Detroit and made The Detroit Jewish News’s list of “36 Under 36” in 2017 for her work trying to deepen positive relationships between the two communities.
“By extending her hand and creating space for connection between Muslims and Jews, she has exemplified the values of healing the world,” The Detroit Jewish News wrote at the time. Woll was 40 at the time of her death.
At a Monday press conference, DPD Chief James E. White asserted that antisemitism was not believed to be a motivation for the crime, though he cautioned that the investigation is ongoing. He said police have several persons of interest in the case and are “just short of calling one of [them] a suspect.”
“We believe that there are no other groups or anyone else at risk,” he said. “We believe that this incident was not motivated by antisemitism and that this suspect acted alone. There are several factors that have led us to this conclusion.”
DPD received a call in the early morning hours of Saturday, Oct. 21 about a person lying on the ground unresponsive in the 1300 block of Joliet Place. While at the scene officers found her body with multiple stab wounds, and observed a trail of blood leading to Woll’s residence. Detectives declared Woll dead on arrival. There were no signs of forced entry at her residence, DPD says.
DPD confirmed that Woll attended a wedding on Friday night and returned to her home at around 12:30 a.m. on Saturday. They believe she was attacked inside the home and then stumbled outside and collapsed in the yard. An autopsy has been performed, but DPD declined to release details of its results.
White told reporters there are certain details police are unwilling to disclose at this time “that, if revealed, could really damage what we’re trying to accomplish here.”
“By all accounts, Ms. Woll was very well-liked in the community so it is clearly very shocking to her family and to her friends that this incident has occurred,” DPD Deputy Chief Kari Sloan said at the press conference.
DPD is working with the Michigan State Police and the FBI to determine what occurred in the days and weeks leading up to Woll’s death. The FBI deferred all questions to DPD.
In response to further questions regarding how DPD can be sure Woll’s death wasn’t due to antisemitism, White said the investigation hasn’t led detectives toward a hate crime motive.
“We believe the motivation is very different than a hate crime,” he said.
According to White, the police are reviewing digital footage from the Project Green Light surveillance network and other sources to track Woll’s route of travel home after the wedding to see if she was being followed.
DPD’s Chief White also reiterated that the public not draw conclusions surrounding Woll’s death as Israel escalates its war in the Palestinian territories. The Palestinian rebel group Hamas launched an attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that killed 1,300 people. In response, Israel launched an attack on the Gaza Strip that has killed an estimated 4,000. President Biden pledged additional support for Israel while at the same time warning the country to show restraint in its retaliation.
“While you feel that rage, don’t be consumed by it,” Biden said while visiting Tel Aviv last week.
Thousands of protestors have flocked to the streets of Arab-majority Dearborn to show their support for the Palestinian people. A smaller Jewish-led protest in Detroit held days later demanded an immediate ceasefire.
Woll had previously worked on the campaigns of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, State Representative Stephanie Chang, and U.S. Representative Elissa Slotkin.
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