Judge Investigated for Contacts With Delinquent Boys Kills Self

A county judge who had been barred from handling juvenile court cases because of improper contacts with delinquents was found dead in the courthouse of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, officials said today.

King County Superior Court Judge Gary M. Little, 49, knew that the Seattle Post-Intelligencer was publishing a front-page story today reporting that Little had used his influence as an attorney and teacher to have sexual relations with young men in the 1970s, a friend of the judge said.

Camden Hall, a lawyer and longtime friend of Little, said the judge called him twice Thursday threatening suicide. Hall said he tried to get help for Little, whose body was found by a janitor about 10 p.m. in an eighth floor hallway.

A handgun and a note were found with the body, police said, but they declined to divulge the contents of the note.

Hall said Little, 49, had been notified that the Post-Intelligencer would publish a story today in which five men now in their 30s alleged that Little had used his position as an attorney and teacher at a private school to coerce them into sexual relations in the 1970s.