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New person of interest held in murder of Detroit synagogue president

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A suspect was taken into custody in November but was released shortly after without being charged. 

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

A second person of interest has been taken into police custody on suspicion of allegedly murdering Detroit synagogue president Samantha Woll in October.

The Detroit police department told The New York Post, “In an effort to ensure the integrity of this ongoing investigation, no further details will be released at this time. Additional information will be released in the near future.”

A suspect was taken into custody in November but was released shortly after without being charged.

Samantha Woll (40), who was the president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue, was stabbed to death outside of her home on October 21.

According to Detroit police, Woll’s body was discovered by emergency responders, who spotted a trail of blood near her home.

It was unclear who had called paramedics to the scene.

Although Woll was murdered in a climate of rising antisemitism following the October 7th Hamas massacre in Israel, Detroit police aren’t investigating the incident as a hate crime, and there is no evidence that the alleged attacker knew Woll personally.

Woll was the president of the Downtown Detroit Isaac Agree Synagogue, the only synagogue in Detroit proper. She was active in politics, and served as Political Director for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D)’s campaign. She also worked as Deputy District Director for Michigan Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin (D).

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Those who knew her said Woll was well-liked, and thought of as a kind and caring person who “built bridges” and fought for social justice. She attended a friend’s wedding the night before her body was discovered at 6:30 am the following morning.

Although the police are not investigating Woll’s murder as an antisemitic hate crime, her murder coincided with a rise in antisemitic incidents, which the ADL reports have increased over 400% since October 7th.