A suspect arrested in connection with the stabbing death of a prominent Jewish community leader was released after police failed to file the necessary paperwork, prosecutors have confirmed.
The revelation, offered this week by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, comes nearly a month after 40-year-old Samantha Woll was found stabbed to death outside her Detroit home, sparking an investigation that led to the suspect’s arrest.
On Friday, the suspect was released after being held for 72 hours – days after the city’s police chief announced to reporters that they had arrested a person of interest, without specifying what led to their arrest.
An interrogation that lasted for days followed, culminating in the suspect’s release. The decision was reportedly made after the suspect made an “ambiguous” statement to police — a statement that sources told The Detroit News was not enough to warrant charges.
No warrant was ever filed and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s hands were tied. A spokesperson for the office confirmed the situation in a brief statement.
Samantha Woll, 40, was found stabbed to death outside her Detroit home nearly a month ago, but an arrested suspect has since been released
The suspect was released Friday after being held for 72 hours — days after the city’s police chief, James E. White, announced they had arrested a person of interest.
“There’s nothing before us,” Maria Miller told Fox News about the lack of a warrant — something the suspect’s attorneys claimed last week.
“This must happen before we can review the case for a charging decision,” Miller further explained, citing long-standing legal practices in place in every state.
“Until then, it is a completely open police investigation that they continue to work on,” she added.
In the meantime, no charges have been filed, which means that the suspect – besides being back on the street – can remain nameless.
When asked, police would not provide an update on the status of their increasingly lengthy investigation, which began Oct. 21 in Detroit’s Lafayette Park neighborhood.
There, a wandering witness came across Woll’s bloodied body, just steps from her Joliet Place home. The body, belonging to the woman who appeared on the Detroit Jewish News’ “36 under 36” list in 2017, was found next to a trail of blood.
The local leader’s death came two weeks after the Hamas attacks on Israel, and immediately raised questions about a suspicious and possible motive.
Gaining more attention was the fact that Woll — who was on her way home from a wedding in Sterling Heights before she was killed — was president of a local synagogue and worked as a deputy district director for a local congressman.
The Jewish leader’s body was discovered outside her downtown Detroit home after police followed a blood trail to her property.
Woll, 40, was found brutally stabbed to death outside her home
The male suspect – who reportedly knew the victim – was handcuffed in Kalamazoo after police revealed Wolls had been stabbed in her home (seen here)
Then, more than two weeks into the investigation, the same four sources who reportedly told The News that the man made an “ambiguous” statement to police about the killing claimed that the suspect was an acquaintance of Woll.
He was handcuffed Tuesday night in Kalamazoo after police revealed the victim was stabbed inside her home before “stumbling” and “collapsed” outside.
In a statement after the Jewish leader’s death, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, for whom Woll had also worked during her re-election campaign, said she was “shocked, saddened and horrified” by the “assassination.”
“Sam was as kind as I’ve ever known. She was driven by her genuine love for her community, state and country. Sam has really used her faith and activism to create a better place for everyone,” Nessel said on X.
Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin — the representative who hired the local leader — also praised Woll, saying she was one of the leaders who helped guide her office during her first full term in Washington.
“As deputy district director, she did for our team what came so naturally to her: helping others and serving her constituents,” she said on X.
“Separately, in politics and in the Jewish community, she dedicated her short life to building understanding between faiths and bringing light in the face of darkness.”
Woll’s suspect was released after police failed to file the necessary paperwork, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office
Michigan Attorney General Danal Nessel paid a heartbreaking tribute to Woll (pictured together), saying the Jewish leader was “as kind a person as I have ever known.”
Woll, 40, had served as head of the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue since 2022 and was known for her work with Democratic politicians, including Rep. Elissa Slotkin
As for White – who revealed at the arrest on Tuesday that Woll had been in the street for “quite some time” before being discovered in the early hours of October 21 – he has yet to speak about the man’s release, and his forces have yet to release an update.
Asked by DailyMail.com, experts said the arrest was likely a ploy to get the suspect to say something incriminating, and that the decision to release him was likely made so officers wouldn’t risk filing charges that weren’t would hold.
At a press conference two days after the murder, White claimed there was “no evidence” that Woll was the victim of an anti-Semitic hate crime.
The Detroit Free Press, meanwhile, recently reported that police served a search warrant at the unnamed man’s home last week, based on the word of another police source.
White, meanwhile, would not confirm last week whether Woll was leaving the wedding alone, explaining that they are “very, very careful” with the information they share.
He said on Wednesday: ‘The details of the investigation will remain confidential at this time to ensure the integrity of the important steps that follow.’
Detroit police did not immediately respond to a DailyMail.com request for comment.