By The body of the first Muslim female judge, Sheila Abdus-Salaam, was found in the Hudson River near 132nd St in Harlem on Wednesday afternoon.
The 65-year-old judge, who served as an associate judge of the Court of Appeals, was reported missing earlier in the day before her body was discovered. Her husband later identified her body.
Judge Abdus-Salaam was the first Muslim and African American woman to be appointed to New York State’s Court of Appeals.
Abdus-Salaam was known for writing a monumental decision that granted LGBT parents and parents with no biological ties the same rights as biological parents.
Unidentified sources told the New York Post that the body “showed no obvious signs of trauma or injuries indicating criminality or foul play, and that her death appeared to be a suicide.” Police are still investigating the case.
Abdus-Salaam was known for writing a monumental decision that granted LGBT parents and parents with no biological ties the same rights as biological parents.
The office of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo released a statement Wednesday night honoring Judge Abdus-Salaam. Cuomo said, “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. As the first African-American woman to be appointed to the State’s Court of Appeals, she was a pioneer.”