Samantha Woll, President of a Detroit synagogue, was discovered dead in front of her home in the Lafayette Park neighborhood.
The 40-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene at 6.30 a.m. on Saturday, October 21, after being discovered laying on the ground with several stab wounds. According to the authorities, the motivation is still unknown.
According to Corporal Dan Donakowski of the Detroit Police Department,
“While at the scene, police officers observed a trail of blood leading officers to the victim’s residence, which is where the crime is believed to have occurred.”
According to Detroit Police Chief James White, the homicide has left many unresolved issues. He pleaded with the public to be patient while detectives sifted through all available material.
White stated;
“Over the course of the last several hours, the Detroit Police Department has mobilised many of its resources and has been leveraging every law enforcement and community resource it has to help further the investigation.”
Police were still in the location where Woll was killed on Saturday afternoon, an upmarket townhome zone built by Mies van der Rohe. The surrounding houses were cordoned off, and a Michigan State Police K-9 was seen sniffing in the bushes.
Ms Woll spent much of her career in state and municipal politics, working for or coordinating campaigns for people including Nessel, state Sen. Stephanie Chang, and Detroit City Clerk Denzel McCampbell.
She has been the executive director of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue since 2022, and she previously worked as an adviser to Democratic Representative Elissa Slotkin and as a campaign staffer for Attorney General Dana Nessel.
