On Saturday morning, the body of Samantha Woll, who served as president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue, was discovered outside her house in Lafayette Park, Michigan. She had been stabbed to loss. Her age was forty.
In a post on its Facebook page on Saturday, the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue gave the following statement as confirmation of her passing: “We are shocked and saddened to learn of the unexpected loss of Samantha Woll, our Board President.”
“At this point we do not have any more information, but we will share more when it becomes available,” the synagogue added in their statement. “May the memory of her be a blessing.”
on a statement, the Detroit Police Department was quoted as saying that authorities declared Woll passed at the scene after they discovered her corpse with several stab wounds on the 1300 block of Joliet Place. This information was reported by the Detroit Free Press.
According to CNN, the authorities found what they described as a “trail of blood” going up to her home, which is where they suspect Woll was murdered. According to the news organization, the Homicide Unit is in charge of the investigation, and they have said that a motivation for the crime is still a mystery.
In a statement sent to CNN, the FBI claimed that the organization is “aware of the incident,” and that “we will assist the Detroit Police Department as requested.”
PEOPLE reached out to the Detroit Police Department for comment; however, the department did not immediately reply.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Woll worked on the reelection campaign of Rep. Elissa Slotkin and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel before she sat on the board of the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue. This work was done before Woll was a member of the board.
In reaction to the synagogue’s notification that Woll had passed away, Representative Slotkin, who represents Michigan’s seventh congressional district, published a comment on X (which was then known as Twitter).
“I and all of Team Slotkin are heartbroken at this news,” Slotkin, who is 47 years old, said in his letter. “Sam worked for me from nearly the moment I became a Congresswoman, assisting us in setting up the office and assisting us in leading it for the entirety of my first term in office,”
Nessel posted a picture of herself and Woll online along with the caption, “I am shocked, saddened, and horrified to learn of Sam’s brutal murder.”
Nessel, who is now 54 years old, went on to say, “Sam was one of the most charitable people I’ve ever known.” “She was motivated by the deep love that she had for her local community, her state, and her nation. Sam did a wonderful job of putting her beliefs into action and making the world a better place for everyone.
In a statement released on X, the Mayor of Detroit, Mike Duggan, said, “I was devastated today to learn of the loss of one of Detroit’s great young leaders – Samantha Woll.”
“Just a few weeks ago, I shared a day of joy with Sam at the dedication of the newly renovated Downtown Synagogue,” Duggan continued. “It was a beautiful day.” It was a project that she effectively directed while maintaining a high level of pride and excitement for the work.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who represents New York’s 16th Congressional District, said on X that it makes him feel “sick to my stomach to hear about the stabbing loss of Detroit synagogue president Samantha Woll.”
After listing some of her successes, Bowman made a passionate appeal to the audience, saying, “As they investigate this horrific crime, I want to reiterate my call that we MUST focus on our humanity and look for ways to love one another.”
“Enough of this affliction. The congressman’s last statement finished with the phrase “may her memory be a blessing.”