‘Beautiful and pure’: Family and friends mourn beloved synagogue leader found fatally stabbed near her Detroit home

Originally Published: 23 OCT 23 00:53 ET Updated: 23 OCT 23 08:45 ET By Macie Goldfarb and Nouran Salahieh, CNN

(CNN) — Friends and family of the beloved Detroit synagogue leader found fatally stabbed over the weekend remembered Samantha Woll’s kindness, her generosity and her dedication for helping others during a packed funeral service as police continue to hunt for who killed her and why.

“Your soul was beautiful and pure,” Woll’s younger sister Monica Woll Rosen said Sunday as she stood next to her white casket. “You so deeply wanted peace for this world. You fought for everyone, regardless of who they were or where they came from. You were the definition of a leader.”

Woll so loved her family and would always rush to help others who needed it, her sister said.

“Our world is shattered without you,” Woll Rosen said. “You brought us light.”

Police have not identified any suspect in the case, and it’s unclear what led to the killing. Officers responding to a 911 call for someone “lying on the ground unresponsive” found Woll with stab wounds, and she was pronounced dead at the scene, the Detroit Police Department said.

“Officers observed a trail of blood leading officers to the victim’s residence, which is where the crime is believed to have occurred,” police said. It does not appear there was forced entry into Woll’s home, a law enforcement source said.

“No evidence has surfaced suggesting that this crime was motivated by antisemitism,” Detroit Police Chief James White said Sunday.

Still, Woll’s death has shaken a faith community reeling since Hamas’ deadly October 7 attack on Israel. For American Jews, the ensuing conflict has heightened fears of antisemitic incidents, which reached new heights in 2022.

Woll was president of the board of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, served on the ritual committee, worked on the building’s renovation and reopening and spearheaded fundraising, among other responsibilities, Rabbi Ariana Silverman said.

“Sam had a uniquely special, personal relationship with countless people across lines of faith and race and politics and all of the things that usually divide us,” Silverman said. “So many people think of her as someone with whom they had a particularly close or important relationship, and each of them is right.”

One after the other, speakers at her funeral recalled Woll’s infectious smile, her giving spirit, her willingness to listen and her consistent push to build bridges between people and fight for social justice.

The last text message Woll sent before her killing was a heart to a friend, “just because,” her sister said. After she died, flowers Woll earlier had sent arrived Saturday at another friend’s home for their birthday.

“She believed in humanity, which of course is a terrible irony for today,” said Rabbi Steven Rubenstein of Congregation Beth Ahm in West Bloomfield, Michigan.

Police try to piece together timeline

Investigators are working with the FBI to “forensically analyze all of the information obtained up to this point in an effort to ascertain the timeline that ultimately led to Ms. Woll’s death,” the Detroit police chief.

“Individuals with information that may further this investigation are being interviewed,” White said.

The FBI office in Detroit has provided “technical, forensic, and intelligence assistance” in the case at the request of the Detroit Police Department, the federal agency said.

“I again ask the community to remain patient while our investigators and law enforcement partners continue their work,” the chief added.

Michigan State Police have been assigned to support local police in the case, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said, adding, “Together, they will investigate this vicious crime and bring the perpetrator to justice.”

“My heart breaks for her family, her friends, her synagogue, and all those who were lucky enough to know her,” Whitmer said. “She was a source of light, a beacon in her community who worked hard to make Michigan a better place.”

‘A light has gone out in Detroit’

The night before her body was discovered, Woll attended a wedding, where Michigan state Sen. Stephanie Chang said she saw her.

The pair discussed Woll’s excitement over a new job and how things were going at Woll’s synagogue and in her neighborhood, Lafayette Park, Chang said. Woll ended up meeting and befriending a couple and was still in deep conversation Friday evening when Chang and her daughter said goodbye.

“I’m so, so glad that my last memories of Sam are of happiness and love,” Chang said through tears.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, whose campaign Woll had been part of, also spoke at the service, highlighting Woll’s encouraging and compassionate character and her powerful ability to connect with others.

“She could charm everyone. She charmed celebrities and naysayers alike. Her warmth could persuade even the hardest heart of the loudest heckler,” Nessel said. “Sam gave everything of herself, but she asked for nothing in return.”

“Samantha Woll may have been the nicest person that I have ever met, or will ever meet, in my lifetime,” she said.

In an obituary, Woll’s loved ones wrote she loved “all forms of art,” including theater and opera, loved being in nature, had worked with several political campaigns and was also involved with many interfaith organizations.

“She was unfailing in her commitment to living in the moment and always saw the good in everyone she met,” it said. “Samantha will always be remembered for her tireless activism and for her passion to make the world a better place.

“She was an angel and there was truly no one kinder.”

Woll loved spending time with her nieces and nephews and often brought them markers and books from around the world, her sister said.

Woll was also an artist, leaving behind paintings that now hang in her loved ones’ homes and offices, Woll Rosen said.

“Sam, I feel like I’m about to wake up from a horrible nightmare and you’ll be next to me hugging me and holding me,” Woll Rosen said, addressing her sister at her funeral. “This is not supposed to happen. I’ll never understand why it did. A light has gone out in Detroit, in our hearts, for our people, for the world.”

Clarification: This story clarifies where police found Woll’s body.

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