Suspect Nabbed in Detroit Synagogue Leader Samantha Woll’s Murder

Detroit Police announced Wednesday that a suspect had been taken into custody in connection to the fatal stabbing of Samantha Woll, a beloved 40-year-old synagogue board president found dead just outside her home.

Woll’s death last month grabbed national headlines as it happened as the war between Israel and Hamas was unfolding, and spilling over into violent attacks in the U.S. However, police said at the time that they didn’t believe antisemitism was a factor in her slaying.

In a statement, police said details of the arrest would be kept under wraps for now “to ensure the integrity of the important steps that remain.”

“While this is an encouraging development in our desire to bring closure for Ms. Woll’s family, it does not represent the conclusion of our work in this case,” the statement said.

Police tape restricts access to the home where cops say Samantha Woll was fatally stabbed.

Getty Images/Sarah Rice

Officers arrived at Woll’s home to conduct a welfare check on the morning of Oct. 21 to find her lying dead in her front yard, with a trail of blood leading to her front door.

Woll, the board president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue since 2022, had been out celebrating at a wedding the night before, Detroit Police Chief James White said, and relatives believe she arrived home late. White said last month that it wasn’t clear what time Woll was stabbed but her body had been abandoned for “quite a while” by the time cops arrived.

He said cops were working to determine if Woll left the wedding alone or not, and were pulling footage from traffic cameras and footage from neighbor’s homes. Citing people at the celebration who spoke to police, White said that Woll was her “normal, positive, and pleasant self” during her final night alive.

He also said there was no sign of forced entry at Woll’s home, and she was likely stabbed inside before stumbling outside. He did not say if cops were probing it as a domestic incident.

Woll’s murder came as tensions stemming from the Israel-Hamas war were boiling over worldwide. Just a week prior, an Illinois landlord allegedly killed a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy—and attempted to kill his mom—after becoming paranoid listening to conservative radio segments about the war.

In cops’ last public update before Wednesday, however, White was emphatic that there was no evidence to suggest Woll’s slaying was related to her religion. Citing a police source, CNN reported that an Israeli flag inside Woll’s home was left untouched.

“We believe that the motivation is very different than a hate crime,” he said. “It’s horrific, and it’s tragic, and that’s the focus of the investigation.”

Relatives described Woll as being both a political and community activist. She once worked on the political campaigns for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-MI). Both women gave eulogies at Woll’s funeral, which Woll’s cousin, Lisa Schwartz Jewel, said was attended by more than a thousand mourners.

“I’ve lost an amazing cousin and a sister in activism,” Jewel wrote on Facebook. “She knew everybody, and everybody loved her for her energy, inspiration, and devotion to her many causes. Her spirit unquestionably lives on.”