OAN’s Abril Elfi
2:52 PM – Thursday, October 26, 2023
The suspect in the killing of a Maryland judge has now been found dead by officials.
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Authorities announced on Thursday that the suspect, Pedro Argote, who was accused of fatally shooting Washington County Circuit Judge Andrew Wilkinson on October 19th was found dead.
Wilkinson had presided over a hearing hours before the murder, in which Argote’s wife and daughter gave a dramatic testimony about the violence he perpetrated on them for years.
Argote was not present for the hearing, which ended with Wilkinson ruling against him and awarding exclusive custody of his four children to his wife.
According to a Facebook post from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, Argote’s body was discovered in a densely wooded area approximately one mile from where his vehicle was discovered on Saturday after they launched a search for him.
“On October 26, 2023, at approximately 11:00 AM, during an expanded evidentiary search in the Williamsport, MD area, a deceased person was located,” the sheriff’s office wrote. “The deceased individual has been positively identified as Pedro Argote, the suspect wanted for the murder of Maryland Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson.”
Washington County Sheriff Brian Albert, spoke at a news conference on Thursday where he said they had “hastily searched that area, but we were just going over it systematically today.”
Albert stated that officials would not answer inquiries concerning the time or cause of Argote’s death until an autopsy was completed.
Officials and Wilkinson’s family, on the other hand, were reportedly “relieved” that the suspect’s body had been discovered.
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By: OAN
