According to reports, police released a guy they had detained in connection with the stabbing death of Jewish leader Samantha Woll in Detroit last month late on Friday.
The Detroit News, citing four police sources, reported that the suspect—whose identity has not been made public—was detained in Kalamazoo on Tuesday and interrogated for 72 hours after providing authorities with an unclear statement on the death on October 21.
The Detroit News stated that the man’s declaration would not be sufficient to pursue charges on its own. Not much information has been made public regarding the statement.
It is believed that Woll knew the individual who had been arrested, according to the news source.
A request for comment from Fox News Digital was not immediately answered by the Detroit Police Department.
Police said that on October 21, Woll, the president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue and a fervent supporter of Israel, was attacked inside her Lafayette Park house before passing out on her front lawn.
About 6:30 a.m., someone discovered she wasn’t responding and dialled 911. She had her ID and phone on her, and there were no indications of a forced entry.
Police have denied the assertions made by many speculating that Woll was the victim of a hate crime during tensions over the Israel-Hamas conflict. The largest Arabic-speaking community in the United States is found in the Detroit area.
James E. White, the chief of police in Detroit, gave a brief press conference two days after the killing.
“We believe this incident was not motivated by antisemitism, and this suspect acted alone,” he said, declining to comment on a possible motive.
In announcing the arrest of X, White wrote that details of the investigation “will remain confidential.”
It is uncommon to withhold a suspect’s name after they have been placed under arrest, experts have previously told Fox News Digital, adding even more enigma to an already complex case.
“There are a host of possible reasons to withhold the name. I can think of many. Does it happen often? As often as a lunar eclipse,” said Joan Illuzzi-Orbon, a former senior Manhattan prosecutor.
Illuzzi-Orbon, who succeeded in getting Harvey Weinstein found guilty of rape in 2020, cited Woll’s political ties.
She had worked for Democratic lawmakers Elissa Slotkin, Michigan State Senator Stephanie Chang, and Attorney General Dana Nessel in addition to her Jewish advocacy.
“It could be someone in law enforcement or someone who is an informant for the government, and it could endanger him or the people the suspect was involved with. Maybe the victim was a government informant,” she said.
The prosecutor further stated that police can withhold a suspect’s name if doing so would put the suspect’s family in danger.
