A Detroit political activist and president of a downtown synagogue was found stabbed to death outside her home in the city’s Lafayette Park neighborhood Saturday morning.
Samantha Woll, 40, led the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue since 2022 after working on the campaigns of Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin and Attorney General Dana Nessel, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Police said the body was found at 6:30 a.m. by a passerby. A trail of blood led from her home to the body, which had been stabbed multiple times.
“I am shocked, saddened and horrified to learn of Sam’s brutal murder,” Nessel said in a statement. “Sam was as kind a person as I’ve ever known. She was driven by her sincere love of her community, state and country. Sam truly used her faith and activism to create a better place for everyone.”
The synagogue said in a statement that it was “shocked and saddened” by the “unexpected” death.
“At this point we do not have more information, but will share more when it becomes available. May her memory be a blessing,” the statement said.
“Separately, in politics & in the Jewish community, she dedicated her short life to building understanding across faiths, bringing light in the face of darkness,” Slotkin wrote, the Detroit News said.
Woll previously worked for State Sen. Stephanie Chang and was one of The Detroit Jewish News’ “36 under 36” in 2017. The outlet said she helped lead the American Jewish Committee’s ACCESS Detroit Young Leadership Program and founded the Muslim-Jewish Forum of Detroit, which worked to build relationships between young adults of both faiths.
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[Featured image: Samantha Woll/Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue]
