Man wanted for US judge's murder found dead

A man wanted for the murder of a Maryland judge who ruled against him in a child custody case has been found dead

Washington (AFP) - A man wanted for the murder of a Maryland judge who ruled against him in a child custody case has been found dead, officials said Thursday.

The body of Pedro Argote, 49, was found in a wooded area near where his vehicle was located last week, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

The sheriff's office did not provide a cause of death.

Law enforcement had been searching for Argote since Judge Andrew Wilkinson, 52, was shot dead in the driveway outside his home in Hagerstown, Maryland, on October 19.

Just hours earlier, Wilkinson had presided at a divorce hearing in which custody of Argote's children was given to his wife.

Washington County Sheriff Brian Albert described the judge's murder as a "targeted attack."

© Agence France-Presse