Detroit police have taken a “person of interest” into custody related to the murder of Jewish community leader Samantha Woll in October.
According to the Detroit News, the man appears to be a stranger and not an acquaintance of Woll’s, citing sources. The sources said he is not the same man who was detained in November and released after 72 hours.
Woll, 40, was found fatally stabbed outside her home on October 21 after she had attended a wedding the night before, as CrimeOnline reported. Detroit officials were quick to say the murder did not appear to be antisemitic in nature, but they refused to say what they did think, including whether Woll left the wedding alone, although they repeatedly said they were “close” to identifying a suspect.
The sources told the News Sunday that police still don’t believe the murder was a hate crime.
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On November 8, an acquaintance of Woll’s was taken into custody in Kalamazoo on November 8, but he was released three days later in accordance with Michigan law, which requires that a person cannot be detained for longer than that time without charge.
Police released a vague statement late Sunday about the latest detention, saying the person of interest was taken into custody “in furtherance of the investigation into the murder of Samantha Woll” and that they wouldn’t be saying anything more to “ensure the integrity” of the lengthy investigation, WDIV reported.
Sources told WDIV that the man who was initially detained made ambiguous statements in a police interview, leading to his detention. By the time they brought him back to Detroit for further questioning, however, he stopped talking and hired a lawyer.
Police believe Woll, president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, was stabbed inside her home and stumbled outside, where she collapsed and was found by a passerby at about 6:30 a.m. Woll was also a former aide for US Rep. Elissa Slotkin and a former campaign staff member for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
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