First US Muslim woman judge found dead in Hudson River

The first Muslim woman who became a judge in the US judicial system was found dead and her body was found floating in New York’s Hudson River.

Sheila Abdus-Salaam was of African-American descent and she was a 65-year-old associate judge of New York’s highest court. Her body was found on Wednesday, floating off Manhattan’s west side at about 1:45 p.m.

Someone reported spotting a body in the river and then the police were called to the scene. Divers pulled Abdus-Salaam’s fully clothes body from the water and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Her family was then called who identified her.

So far a cause of death is not certain and an autopsy will be conducted to find it out. It cannot be said at this time whether this was an episode of hate-crime or personal enmity.

It was reported that Abdus-Salaam had been reported missing from her New York home earlier on Wednesday and later that same evening her body was found.

Abdus-Salaam belonged to Washington DC, and she became the first African-American woman to be appointed as the judge to the Court of Appeals when Democratic Governor Mario Cuomo named her to the state’s high court in 2013.

“Justice Sheila Abdus-Salaam was a trailblazing jurist whose life in public service was in pursuit of a more fair and more just New York for all,” Cuomo said in a statement.

Abdus-Salaam was a graduate of Barnard College and Columbia Law School and she started her law career with East Brooklyn Legal Services. She also served as a New York state assistant attorney general.

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Posted by fatimaarshad on Apr 13 2017. Filed under Latest News, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.