Deaths, State Judges

Death Of Judge Abdus-Salaam Now Being Treated As Suspicious

There is a dispute over whether the death of Judge Abdus-Salaam was a suicide, as originally suggested.

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Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam (via NY1)

Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam (via NY1)

The sudden death of New York Court of Appeals judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam earlier this month shook the legal community. Shortly after her body was found in the Hudson River, there were reports that the judge, suffering from depression, took her own life, with the lack of trauma to the body being a central fact supporting that conclusion.

That theory, however, has not sat well with everyone. The Los Angeles Times is reporting that Abdus-Salaam’s husband, Gregory Jacobs, objects to that explanation:

Gregory Jacobs, an Episcopal priest who become Abdus-Salaam’s third husband when they married last year, also challenged the portrayal of his wife as suicidal.

“Reports have frequently included unsubstantiated comments concerning my wife’s possible mental and emotional state of mind at the time of her death. Those of us who loved Sheila and knew her well do not believe that these unfounded conclusions have any basis in reality,” read a statement Jacobs released Wednesday.

The timing of Abdus-Salaam’s death, the same week as the murder of another black jurist, Raymond Myles, has raised alarm bells for some. And, as Shaun King of the New York Daily News says, there are a number of “elephants” in the room surrounding the judge’s death:

What I am saying is that if Judge Abdus-Salaam was a white atheist man who simply went with the flow of society instead of against it, my base level suspicions surrounding her death simply wouldn’t be as high as they are right now. But she was none of those things. She was a black woman in an age of anti-blackness and white supremacy. She was a woman in an age where violence against women is too often dismissed. She was an anti-corruption judge in a time where our President and his team are under criminal investigation by the FBI.

Sheila Abdus-Salaam may have very well chosen to check out of this world. That was her decision to make, but the troubling reality is that we live in a time where many ugly forces of evil could’ve also seen her as a threat and killed her. Here’s to hoping we get to the bottom of it.

Judge Abdus-Salaam’s death is now being investigated by the New York Police Department as suspicious. The 26th Precinct tweeted out this poster seeking information last week.

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sheila abdus-salaam poster

The judge called out sick on April 11th, and she was seen leaving her house in athletic wear. Over the course of several hours, surveillance video shows Abdus-Salaam walking towards the Hudson River. Her body was found at the edge of the river the following afternoon.

Mysterious death of New York judge was initially called a suicide. Now, police think it’s suspicious [Los Angeles Times]

Earlier: First Muslim, African-American Woman Judge Appointed To New York Court Of Appeals Found Dead In Hudson River

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headshotKathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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