Police: New evidence prompted arrest of 'person of interest' in Woll death

Detroit — The second man to be taken into police custody following the Oct. 21 fatal stabbing of Samantha Woll has been on detectives' radar since early in the investigation, two Detroit Police sources told The Detroit News, although the city's police chief said Monday that new evidence surfaced over the weekend that prompted the man's arrest.

The man, who was arrested Sunday and remained in custody Monday, is one of several persons of interest who have been investigated as part of the probe into Woll's stabbing death, Police Chief James White said. The chief did not say how investigators became interested in the man, although two sources told The News he was seen near Woll's house the night of the murder.

"The public must understand that in the context of complex homicide investigations, it is not unusual for there to be a number of suspects, persons of interest, investigative leads, and evidentiary follow-ups that must be thoroughly examined before investigators are ready to submit a warrant to the prosecutor's office," White said in a statement. "In this case, new evidence surfaced with respect to this particular person of interest that necessitated their arrest at this time."

White said police monitored the man from the time he was flagged as a "person of interest" until his arrest Sunday.

"At no time was the community in danger, as this person of interest was under continuous investigation," the chief said. "The person of interest was taken into custody within an hour of the new information surfacing because investigators were familiar with their whereabouts."

Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Maria Miller said Monday her office hadn't received a warrant request in the Woll case.

Because of Woll's position as board president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, some people questioned whether her killing was motivated by antisemitism or prompted by the violence in Gaza that started Oct. 7. White said during a previous press briefing there was no evidence that Woll's killing was a hate crime, but he said investigators hadn't ruled out the possibility.

The first man who was arrested in connection with Woll's murder, an acquaintance, was released after 48 hours, the longest period police in Michigan may hold suspects without charging them. According to four police sources, the man told a Kalamazoo police officer that he felt responsible for Woll's death, although he didn't actually confess to killing her. Police questioned the man and released him.

The Kalamazoo Police Department last week denied The News' Freedom of Information request seeking the officer's body-worn camera footage that recorded the interaction, because they said it could interfere with an ongoing investigation.

"What we are witnessing here is the natural progression of a high-profile homicide investigation that is of particular interest in this community," White said. "Despite this, our investigators must be diligent in their attempts to bring closure to this case and further details must remain confidential at this time.

"While some without information on this case may be critical of this approach, having received ongoing updates as to the status of this matter, I can assure the community that this is best approach toward ensuring a professional investigation is forwarded to the prosecutor’s office," White said.

ghunter@detroitnews.com

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@GeorgeHunter_DN