The Maryland judge who was shot to death in his driveway last Thursday heard testimony from the wife and daughter of his suspected killer during a divorce hearing hours earlier
A man walks past the Washington County Circuit Court building in downtown Hagerstown, Md., Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. Authorities say Maryland Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson was shot to death in the driveway of his home on Thursday night, had presided over the divorce case of the man now identified as a suspect in the killing. HAGERSTOWN, Md.
“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,” she told the court, explaining that she left home at 18 to escape the abuse and hadn’t had contact with her father since. Before she could get the paperwork together, Argote filed for divorce himself. Court records show a messy legal battle ensued and Argote’s abuse escalated, according to court testimony.
Exhibits filed into the court record include photos of Argote smiling and posing with his children, riding bikes and swimming. In one photo, two of his children are sitting in their driveway next to a sidewalk chalk message that reads: “I love you Dad.” But Argote failed to appear for the second half of the hearing last week. Instead, he called the courthouse saying he had a headache.Erika Garrott Johnson, the attorney representing Argote’s wife, said she believes Argote didn’t come to court because he didn’t want to hear his family’s emotional testimony “and because he knows the writing is on the wall.”
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