Sheila Abdus-Salaam's Death Treated as Suspicious by NYPD

The death of Sheila Abdus-Salaam, a pioneering appeals court judge in NYC, is being treated as suspicious by the NYPD as questions remain about how she ended up in the Hudson where she was found dead last week.

It was initially thought Abdus-Salaam committed suicide, since no evidence of criminality was found on her body and she left her car, pocketbook, cash, MetroCard and cellphone behind in her apartment, according to the New York Post. Further, no signs of a struggle or forced entry were found at her apartment.

Abdus-Salaam had struggled with depression, and her mother and brother had both died in earlier years around Easter, the Post reported.

An autopsy found water in her lungs, which suggests she was alive when she went into the river. Slight bruising was found on her neck, the Post said, but a lack of bleeding in her eyes was not consistent with death by strangulation.

A source told the New York Post that police want to be sure no video exists of Abdus-Salaam being attacked or killed, since there is no evidence she jumped in the water voluntarily.

"God forbid someone a year from now says, 'I killed the judge and this is how I did it,' and police don’t have the evidence to support or refute that claim," the source said, adding that police are "covering their bases" by investigating fully.

Police have checked surveillance video in the area to try to pinpoint Abdus-Salaam’s whereabouts the morning of her death between the time a deliveryman saw her at her apartment and 1:45 p.m., when she was found in the water, but have found nothing. She didn’t show up to work that day, the Post reported.

Abdus-Salaam’s husband doesn’t believe she committed suicide and is asking the community to come forward with information about her whereabouts that day, NBC New York reported.

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