No signs of foul play in death of New York judge found beside Hudson River, police say

There are no signs that a crime was committed in the death of a judge on New York’s highest court whose body was found on the bank of the Hudson River, police said Thursday.

An autopsy was pending on 65-year-old Sheila Abdus-Salaam, the first black woman appointed to New York’s Court of Appeals.

The New York City police harbor unit retrieved her body from the Hudson on Wednesday, a day after she was reported missing.

Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who appointed Abdus-Salaam to her post in 2013, called her a “trailblazing jurist.”

“As the first African American woman to be appointed to the state’s Court of Appeals, she was a pioneer,” Cuomo said. “Through her writings, her wisdom and her unshakable moral compass, she was a force for good whose legacy will be felt for years to come.”

Chief Judge Janet DiFiore said her colleague will be “missed deeply.”

Abdus-Salaam graduated from Barnard College and received her law degree from Columbia Law School.

She started her career as a staff attorney for East Brooklyn Legal Services. She served as a judge on the Manhattan state Supreme Court for 14 years.

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