The man Detroit police said was a suspect in the murder of synagogue leader Samantha Woll was released from custody without charges on Friday.
Police said on Wednesday that a suspect had been taken into custody for Samantha Woll’s murder, CrimeOnline reported, but formal charges were not filed within three days as required by Michigan law to continue holding him, the Detroit Free Press said.
Woll was found stabbed to death outside her Detroit home on October 21 after she had attended a wedding the night before. Police have been particularly tight-lipped about the investigation, except to say they do not believe the murder was an antisemitic attack.
Investigators did not release the name of the man taken into custody in Kalamazoo Tuesday night, but multiple sources told the Free Press that he was close with Woll and attended her funeral. The man’s attorney, Allison Kriger, confirmed his release to the newspaper but declined to provide any other information.
Previously, a source with knowledge of the investigation told the Free Press that police had executed a search warrant on the man’s home.
Police sources told the Detroit News that the man had made an ambiguous statement about Woll’s death to investigators. The sources said the man was arrested after giving the statement to detectives, but the sources added that they didn’t think his comment was enough for formal charges.
Detroit Police declined to comment.
When he announced the arrest, Detroit Police Chief James White called it “an encouraging development,” but said “it does not represent the conclusion of our work in this case.”
Woll was president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue and had 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]
