Suspect in killing of judge is found dead
A man suspected of killing a Maryland judge outside his home last week was found dead Thursday morning, ending a weeklong search, local authorities said.
Pedro Argote, 49, was wanted for murder in the death of Judge Andrew Wilkinson of the Maryland Circuit Courts, the Washington County Sheriff's Office in Maryland said in a statement.
Argote was found during “an expanded evidentiary search” around Williamsport, Maryland, less than 10 miles from the state's northern border. His body was discovered in a heavily wooded area.
It was not immediately clear how Argote had died. At a news conference Thursday, Sheriff Brian K. Albert of Washington County said that Argote's remains would be taken to the medical examiner's office for an autopsy. He added that he had spoken to the judge's family since Argote's body was found.
“It brings a little bit of closure to them, but it's still a tragedy,” he said after speaking to them. “They lost a husband, father and brother.”
Authorities began searching for Argote after Wilkinson was found around 8 p.m. Oct. 19 in his driveway in Hagerstown, Maryland, about 75 miles northwest of Baltimore. He had suffered what appeared to be gunshot wounds, officials from the county sheriff's office said.
Wilkinson was taken to an area hospital and later died of his injuries. His wife and son were home at the time of the shooting, authorities said. The sheriff's office named Argote as a suspect in its preliminary homicide investigation.
On the day he was shot, Wilkinson had presided over a hearing in a divorce case that had started last year, in which Argote was the plaintiff. He had issued a partial judgment of divorce at the hearing, court records show.
At a news conference Friday, Albert said that Wilkinson had awarded custody of Argote's children to his partner at the previous day's hearing. Argote had not attended the hearing, the sheriff said.