Upon his last day in office, Stephen Yekel, a Georgia State Court judge, was found dead in a courtroom on Tuesday (December 31), having shot himself. Police are now investigating after Georgia State Court judge Stephen Yekel died by suicide on Tuesday, shooting himself dead inside of a courtroom upon his last day in office.
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In a press release, the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office reported that deputies discovered the 74-year-old’s body on Tuesday morning. They were dispatched to the courthouse on a report of a possible suicide at 10:20 a.m. Officials noted that cost was not in session on Tuesday.
Deputies said that he appears to have died by suicide, with a self-inflicted gunshot. They added that Yekel died sometime late Monday night (December 30) or early Tuesday morning. As mentioned, Georgia State Court Judge Stephen Yekel’s death is being investigated by the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation will be performing the autopsy.
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Georgia State Court Judge Stephen Yekel was admitted to the state bar on June 14, 1976, and was in good standing at the time of his death, according to bar records and despite unconfirmed conspiracies online. He was appointed to the bench two years ago by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. Earlier this year, he lost his bid for election, with his term scheduled to end on December 31, 2024. He had won the initial round of voting in May but lost in a runoff.
It’s reported that in a December 6 letter to Gov. Kemp, Yekel noted his failed election effort and asked to resign. In his letter, Yekel asked for the effective date of his resignation to be December 30, one day before the end of his term and the day he would take his life. He wrote, “I feel that the office of State Court Judge of Effingham is too important to be decided by only 6% of the eligible voters of Effingham County.”
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On December 12, Kemp rejected Yekel’s request, claiming the results of a fair election “should not be nullified on the basis of manufactured legal technicality.”
In a statement released by the Effingham County Board of Commissioners, officials said they were “deeply saddened” by Yekel’s death. They wrote, “The Effingham County Board of Commissioners and staff are deeply saddened by the tragic death of Judge Steve Yekel at the Effingham County Courthouse today, and we offer our condolences to his family and loved ones.”
Additionally, Effingham County Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie told reporters on Tuesday, “The family’s distraught. It’s supposed to be a happy time this time of year and now they’ve got this.”
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