Detriot cops were “just short” of naming a suspect in the grisly murder of synagogue leader Samantha Woll on Monday while insisting that there was no evidence to suggest the heinous act was the result of a hate crime.
“We are just short of calling one of the people a suspect,” Detroit Police Chief James White said at a press conference.
“But we are working toward that, and we will be there. But again, it just takes time… there’s a lot of information to be analyzed.”
The shocking crime has shaken the Jewish community and stunned family and friends who called Woll “the most beloved person in Detroit.”
Detroit police said they found Woll’s body at about 6:30 a.m. Saturday when they responded to a 911 call about an unresponsive person.
Woll was at a wedding Friday night and left at about 12:30 a.m., according to police and friends.
There were no signs of forced entry at her home in the city’s Lafayette Park section, and no one else in the community is at risk, cops said.
Police would not reveal whether Woll knew her killer or whether she left the wedding alone. Authorities also refused to reveal a possible motive for the heinous crime.
“We have to be very, very cautious as to what information we share,” White said.
Police have been careful about the details they have released about Woll’s killing, but insisted there was no evidence that the slaying was connected to antisemitism or the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
“We believe that this particular incident was not motivated by antsemitism, and that this suspect acted alone,” White said. “There are several factors that have led us to this conclusion. We are not in a position to discuss all of them at this point.”
“There are some very intricate details about this case that, if revealed, could really damage what we’re trying to accomplish. There are some facts that are known only to our suspect, so I can’t get into causation right now.”
White also wouldn’t say how many times she’d been stabbed.
“That number is important for us to keep close,” he said. “It could be the one piece of evidence that breaks the case open if we’re talking to the right suspect that would know that.”
But he did say that cops believe Woll — who had led the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue since 2022 — was attacked inside the home, then stumbled outside after she’d been grievously wounded.
“That’s where the blood trail appears to lead us,” the chief said.
