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Courtroom in Courthouse State Historic Park.

Source: Richard Cummins / Getty

The first female Muslim U.S. judge was found dead Wednesday on the bank of the Hudson River, Fox News reports.

Sheila Abdus-Salaam, who was also the first Black woman appointed to the New York Court of Appeals, was discovered in the Hudson unconscious and unresponsive.

Abdus-Salaam was reported missing from Harlem early Wednesday morning. Witnesses later found the 65-year-old fully-clothed floating in the river near 132 st and Hudson Parkway.

Preliminary reports show no blatant signs of trauma, with police sources telling the media that her death appeared to be a suicide, according to the New York Post.

“She was a pioneer,” N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. “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. I was proud to appoint her to the state’s highest court and am deeply saddened by her passing.”

Abdus-Salaam served as a staff attorney for East Brooklyn Legal Services after graduating with a law degree from Columbia Law School. She went on to serve as a judge in the Manhattan state Supreme Court for over 14 years, Fox News reports.

SOURCE: FOX NEWS

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