Suspect in Samantha Woll killing released without charges, his attorney confirms

A suspect arrested this week by Detroit police in the killing of Samantha Woll was released without being charged Friday, the Free Press has learned.

Police arrested the man, who multiple sources say was close with Woll and attended her funeral, late Tuesday in Kalamazoo. The man's attorney, Allison Kriger, confirmed his release but declined to elaborate, saying she finds it inappropriate to comment on matters of criminal investigation.

As of Friday afternoon, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said it had not received a warrant request in the killing of Woll, a 40-year-old synagogue president and Democratic activist whom police say was stabbed inside her Detroit home Oct. 21.

The man's release came after police executed a search warrant at his home this week, a source with knowledge of the investigation told the Free Press.

Under Michigan law, criminal suspects cannot be held without being charged for more than three days.

Detroit police declined to comment on the case Friday.

Adam Clements, a criminal attorney with Perkins Law Group with no ties to the Woll case, said the release likely signals police lack the evidence for charges at this point.

“If they made a decision to release someone, it's because they believe they don’t have enough evidence to charge or they don’t believe it would be in their best interest to charge at that particular time,” said Clements, who defends people accused of homicide in Detroit. “In a high profile case, they would want to err on the side of caution, move slowly, move methodically, to make sure the decision they make is actually supported by the evidence, especially in a case where the charge is going to be scrutinized.”

Detroit police announced Wednesday afternoon that they had taken a suspect into custody, with Chief James White calling it "an encouraging development," but cautioning that "it does not represent the conclusion of our work in this case." He declined to release additional details "to ensure the integrity of the important steps that remain."

More:Detroit police arrest suspect in killing of Jewish leader Samantha Woll

Woll was found fatally stabbed outside her home in the townhouse district of Detroit’s Lafayette Park three weeks ago, in a case that has been the source of rampant speculation.

White has said no evidence suggests the crime was motivated by antisemitism. Woll had attended a wedding the night before she was killed, and there were no signs of forced entry at her home.

She was president of the board of directors at the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue and worked for high-profile Democrats including Attorney General Dana Nessel and Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin.