DETROIT — Police reiterated Monday that the slaying of a prominent Jewish leader was most likely not an act of antisemitism and that it didn't bear telltale signs of a hate crime.
"Right now, the evidence does not take us there," Detroit Police Chief James E. White told reporters, declining to elaborate on what led authorities to believe the murder of Samantha Woll, 40, on Saturday morning wasn't a bias attack.
Though no arrests have been made, White insisted that no other groups of people should believe they're in immediate danger.
"We believe the motivation is very different than a hate crime," he said. "It's horrific and it's tragic, and that's the focus of the investigation."
He added: “We believe that there are no other groups or anyone else at risk. We believe this incident was not motivated by antisemitism and this suspect acted alone.”
Without offering any specifics, White said a meticulous process of elimination led detectives to believe it wasn’t an act of antisemitism.
“There’s a process to how we disqualify suspects, how we disqualify persons of interest, that the detectives are engaged in,” he said. “We’re confident where we’ve arrived with this particular crime.”
Woll was found fatally stabbed outside her home in Detroit’s Lafayette Park neighborhood.
Authorities are concerned about attacks on Jewish, Muslim and Arab Americans because of tensions surrounding the Israel-Hamas war.
Investigators are focusing on "persons of interest" and a "number of different theories," said White, who stopped short of saying police had a suspect in mind.
Woll was stabbed in her house and stumbled into her front yard before a 911 caller reported seeing the body hours later.
Responding officers discovered a "trail of blood" that led back into Woll's home, which showed no signs of forced entry, White said.
Her body might have been outside for several hours before the 911 call; White said: “We’re confident that she was there for a while.”
Woll had been at a wedding Friday night and left at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday, police said.
"By all accounts she was not in any discomfort or in any distress," White said. "She was her normal positive and pleasant self."
State Sen. Stephanie Chang posted a picture of herself and Woll with the newlyweds, calling Woll “an endlessly positive, brilliant, creative, supportive, beautiful friend with a big heart and wonderful smile.”
Woll was active in Michigan Democratic Party politics and had long ties to Democrats, having served on the campaigns of Chang, Rep. Elissa Slotkin and state Attorney General Dana Nessel, her loved ones have said.
Ariana Silverman, the rabbi at Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, where Woll was board president, told NBC News that Woll "loved people deeply" and wanted to help bridge the gaps that divide people.
"There’s a Jewish tradition that when someone has died, we say, 'May their memory be a blessing' and Sam is one of those people where her memory is already and will exponentially increase as a blessing," Silverman said. "What she was able to achieve in her life means that those connections and those values and that incredible smile, continue to bless us."
Jesse Kirsch reported from Detroit and David K. Li from New York City.
