Maryland Judge About To Be Arrested Dies In Apparent Suicide
HENDERSON, Md. (WJZ) -- Maryland State Police said Caroline County Circuit Court Judge Jonathan Newell was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound the same day FBI agents went to his house to arrest him.
Investigators said Newell was wanted on federal charges for child pornography. In July, police responded to a cabin on Hoopers Island after a child found a video camera in the bathroom and called his parents.
In a police report obtained by WJZ, there were six boys staying overnight with Newell in the cabin.
According to court documents, Newell denied placing the camera, but later went to his bedroom and swallowed a memory card from a box with camera equipment.
Investigators took him to the hospital for a CT scan, which showed the memory card in his body.
Police said they searched Newell's cabin, truck, boat and office and found multiple digital devices and a hard drive that showed videos of boys showering inside his home.
In one video, it even showed him setting up the camera.
Court documents said several boys told police that while at the cabin, he checked their naked bodies for ticks while in the bathroom.
Friday morning, police said they went to Newell's home to arrest him. He was found dead in his home from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Newell, 50, was appointed to the Caroline County Circuit Court by Gov. Larry Hogan in August 2016.
Before that appointment, he served as the Caroline County State's Attorney for 13 years.