Man suspected of killing Maryland judge after custody ruling found dead during manhunt

Pedro Argote was found dead Thursday morning, a week after he allegedly killed Maryland Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson

Pedro Argote, the suspect wanted for murder in the death of Maryland Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson, was found dead by authorities after a week-long manhunt.

In a statement posted on Facebook, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said a deceased person – positively identified as Argote – was found during an “enhanced evidence search” in the Williamsport area around 11 a.m. Thursday.

At a news conference Thursday afternoon, Sheriff Brian K. Albert said Argote’s remains had been sent to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore. The results of an autopsy are pending to determine the cause and manner of death.

Washington County Sheriff’s Office; Washington County Bar Association

The agency said his body was found in a heavily wooded area about a mile northwest of where the 49-year-old’s vehicle was found. On Saturday, authorities seized a silver 2009 Mercedes GL450 that belonged to Argote near the West Virginia border.

Related: Suspect on the run after killing Maryland judge following custody ruling, police say

Authorities had been searching for Argote since the fatal Oct. 19 shooting of 52-year-old Wilkinson, a Washington County Circuit Court judge. Wilkinson was killed just hours after giving Argote’s estranged wife custody of their four children, ages 12, 11, 5 and 3, the Associated Press reported.

The US Marshals Service even offered a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to his arrest.

Wilkinson was found in his driveway in Hagerstown around 8 p.m. on Oct. 19, “suffering from apparent gunshot wounds,” the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. He was taken to Meritus Medical Center, where he later died.

See also: Maryland judge shot dead in driveway of his home, police say: ‘Terrible news’

Earlier that day, Wilkinson ruled against Argote in his divorce petition against his estranged wife, ordering him to pay monthly child support and banning him from any contact with his children, NBC News reported.

According to the district court website, Wilkinson studied economics at the University of North Carolina before attending Emory University School of Law in 1997. He was a lawyer at Barton & Williams and Divelbiss & Wilkinson and opened his own law firm in 2018 while serving on the board of several associations.

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Read the original article on People.