Body of Pedro Argote, suspect in Andrew Wilkinson murder, found
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The abusive dad accused of gunning down Maryland Judge Andrew Wilkinson hours after a divorce hearing was found dead Thursday, ending a massive weeklong manhunt.
Pedro Argote’s body was found by officers swarming the area around where his SUV was located over the weekend in Williamsport, just a few miles from where the 52-year-old judge was shot dead outside his Hagerstown home on Thursday last week.
“The deceased was located in a heavily wooded area between Clear Spring Road and Bottom Road approximately one mile northwest of where the suspect vehicle was found,” Washington County police said.
Argote, 49, had been on the run since the shocking shooting, which police said was “targeted” after Wilkinson granted his ex-wife custody of his children in a divorce case.
The judge had signed an order saying there was to be no visitation or contact between Argote, 49, and his four children, or their mother, Eugenia Argote, according to the partial judgment in the divorce case cited by the Herald-Mail.
The judgment also granted Argote’s ex-wife “sole use and possession of the family home” and barred the husband from entering the property.
Argote was said to have been abusive to his children, with his eldest daughter testifying in court that he beat her with a belt and silenced his infant child by stuffing a towel in his mouth.
She also claimed Argote had installed cameras inside their Frederick home to keep tabs on her as she remained confined to the bedroom for years.
“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,” Argote’s eldest daughter from an earlier relationship testified in court.
She said she left home at 18 and cut off all contact with her father because of his treatment.
Argote’s wife, Eugenia, also told Wilkinson how he had handled the family finances and business ventures, including a food truck and digital advertising company.
He was also controlling of his wife’s personal life and limited her access to their shared family vehicle, she told the court.
Eugenia said the abuse got worse last year when she announced plans to leave him.
But the couple reached a “nesting agreement” which required him to live on the ground floor of the family home while Eugenia and the kids would remain upstairs.
To accommodate this, a domestic violence order Eugenia had obtained was canceled three weeks after it was issued.
Police also said they responded to Argote’s home twice for reports of verbal domestic assault over the past two years.
In his ruling, Wilkinson described the allegations as “shocking,” saying: “I think he is abusive in multiple ways.”
Argote did not show up for that hearing, but would appear at Wilkinson’s home hours later to shoot him with a legally purchased firearm, police said.
The judge was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
His former law partner Jason Divelbiss described the jurist, who was a husband and a father, as “an exceptional lawyer” and a loving family man.
“His wife and kids were always his highest priority and my thoughts go out to them at this horrible time,” Divelbiss added.
“Drew was also very close with his brother and the office always filled with laughter when he dropped by,” the law partner continued.
“One of Drew’s greatest assets was his ability to bring stability to the most difficult situations which is what made him a great attorney, mediator and eventually judge.”
With Post wires
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