(NationRise.com) – A manhunt for a 49-year-old man who allegedly shot and killed a Maryland Judge ended in recent days after his body was discovered. The search, which lasted a week, was initiated after Peter Argote allegedly shot and killed Judge Andrew Wilkinson following a child custody hearing that occurred the same day.
On October 19, Argote was denied custody of his four children, with full custody granted to his ex-wife. Argote was also ordered to pay $1,120 in monthly child support payments, and the family home was also granted to his ex-wife for the purpose of raising his children. Just hours later, Argote was understood to have turned up at Judge Wilkinson’s home and shot him in his own driveway.
Argote was on the run until his body was discovered in a wooded area roughly one mile away from where he abandoned his Mercedes SUV in Williamsport.
Sheriff Brian Albert of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Argote was discovered lifeless in a heavily wooded area, but did not confirm the cause of death. Albert said that the office is “pretty sure” that they “got [their] guy.”
“The Washington County Community Can Breathe a little easier this afternoon,” Albert said during a press conference held on Thursday. Albert also described how he had met the family of the late judge and described their appreciation for the work put in to find his killer. At the same time, Albert said that the story remains a “tragedy,” with a family having “lost a husband, father and a brother.”
Wilkinson began overseeing Argote’s divorce proceedings after the case was filed in June of 2022. NBC reported that Argote was not present in court on the day the decision was made to prevent him from seeing his children without the express permission of his wife. Records also showed that Argote’s ex-wife filed a domestic violence protection petition against him in the same month the divorce proceedings began, alleging that he engaged in physical and emotional abuse.
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