Prosecutors in Michigan say they are reviewing a warrant request from Detroit police in the fatal murder of Jewish community leader Samantha Woll in October.
a man was taken into custody over the weekend, the second person to be detained in connection with the October 21 stabbing. The first, taken into custody on November 8, was released after three days without charge, CrimeOnline reported. Filing a warrant request with prosecutors is the next step to formal charges — something that never happened with the first “person of interest.”
“(The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office) has received a warrant request in the Samantha Woll case that is currently being reviewed,” Assistant Prosecutor Maria Miller told the Detroit News in an email. “No further information will be released at this time.”
Prosecutors must file formal charges within 72 hours or the person detained will be released, as happened in November.
Detroit Police Chief James White said that new evidence prompted the arrest on Sunday. Sources told the News that the man has been on detectives’ radar since early in the investigation, but sources told the News that this man, unlike the man arrested in November, was not acquainted with Woll and appears to be a stranger.
Detroit Police have insisted that their investigation does not indicate that antisemitism prompted Woll’s murder. The 40-year-old president of Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue was found dead outside her home early in the morning on October 21, after attending a wedding the night before. Police have provided practically no information about their investigation, including whether Woll left the wedding alone.
They have said they believe Woll was stabbed inside her home and staggered outside, where her body was found later in the morning.
Woll was also a Democratic Party activist, having previously worked for several Michigan politicians, including Attorney General Dana Nessel and US Representative Elissa Slotkin.
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[Featured image: Samantha Woll/Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue]
