Police in Washington County said Thursday they found the body of Pedro Argote, the man accused of gunning down a Maryland Circuit Court judge in his driveway nearly a week ago.
Washington County Sheriff Brian Albert said authorities discovered Mr. Argote’s body in a heavily wooded area near Williamsport, the same area where the suspect’s abandoned SUV was found last week.
Mr. Argote’s body was located 1 mile northwest of his vehicle, according to police.
Sheriff Albert wouldn’t comment on whether a weapon was found near Mr. Argote’s remains.
He said there was no indication that the suspect had threatened Judge Andrew Wilkinson before being accused of killing the judge on Oct. 19.
The sheriff said the cause and time of death won’t be shared until the Office of the Medical Examiner in Baltimore completes an autopsy.
“Most of us up here, we just came from Judge Wilkinson’s viewing [and] met with the family. They were very appreciative,” Sheriff Albert said at a Thursday press conference. “It brings a little bit of closure to them, but it’s still a tragedy. They lost a husband, a father and a brother. So kind of a somber moment.”
The recently divorced father of four was named as the prime suspect shortly after Wilkinson was shot and killed outside his Hagerstown home last week.
Wilkinson, 52, presided over Mr. Argote’s divorce in court just hours before an assailant mortally wounded him.
The judge granted his ex-wife sole custody of their children after hearing testimony about Mr. Argote’s alleged abuse during the hearing.
The suspect’s adult daughter from a previous relationship said Mr. Argote, 49, would beat her with belts and “whatever he had close by.” She said he set up cameras around the home to watch her every move as well.
She told the judge that she fled home at the age of 18 to escape her father’s abuse.
“The reason I worked up the courage to testify was so that my siblings wouldn’t have to go through the mental torment that I currently have,” she told the court.
Mr. Argote’s ex-wife also testified that he had stuffed a towel in their crying baby’s mouth at one point.
“The manner in which Mr. Argote has isolated these children and mom over the past two years, I think that has gone on throughout the marriage, and it’s shocking,” Wilkinson said during the hearing. “I think he is abusive in multiple ways.”
Wilkinson denied Mr. Argote any visitation rights due to his past behavior. Mr. Argote wasn’t present for the Oct. 19 hearing.
The suspect has no prior criminal record, but Washington County Sheriff Brian Albert said at a previous press conference that deputies have responded to the family’s home twice in recent years over domestic incidents.
Mr. Argote was named in a domestic violence petition in June 2022, according to state court records. The case was dismissed by the petitioner just days later.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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