A state court judge in southeast Georgia died by apparent suicide early Tuesday while sitting on the bench in his courtroom, authorities confirmed.
Effingham County State Court Judge Stephen Yekel, 74, died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, a spokesperson for the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office said. He said deputies found Yekel dead inside the courthouse around 10 a.m.
Credit: Supplied
Credit: Supplied
The spokesperson said investigators believe Yekel died sometime late Monday night or early Tuesday morning.
County coroner David Exley said the death happened early Tuesday. He said Yekel’s body will be sent to the GBI medical examiner’s office for an autopsy.
“He was in the courthouse, apparently by himself there this morning,” Exley told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “He was sitting on the bench in his courtroom.”
Tuesday would have been Yekel’s last day on the bench, after he lost his bid for reelection. A graduate of Atlanta Law School, Yekel was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 1976.
On Dec. 6, Yekel sent a letter to Gov. Brian Kemp seeking approval to resign effective Dec. 30. The one-page letter was an apparent attempt to void the 2024 election for Yekel’s seat that he lost to challenger Melissa Calhoun, an attorney from Rincon, in a June runoff.
Under Georgia law, a judge’s resignation generally creates a vacancy on the bench that the governor fills by appointment. Yekel was appointed by Kemp in June 2022 after the state court judge he’d just defeated in an election resigned to become a superior court judge.
“I have won two previous elections i.e. May 24, 2022, by over 1,400 votes, and 900 votes over two candidates on May 21, 2024, but a runoff was required on July 18, 2024, that I did not win,” Yekel wrote in his resignation letter. “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.”
In a Dec. 12 reply, Kemp rejected Yekel’s resignation, citing “respect for the will of the people of Effingham County.”
“The results of a fair election should not be nullified on the basis of a manufactured legal technicality,” Kemp wrote. “Thank you for your service to the Court and our State. I wish you the best throughout the remainder of your term and in all your future endeavors.”
A representative for the governor said Yekel’s family and loved ones “are in all our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”
Effingham County court staff did not immediately respond to phone and email messages.
Mark Lastinger, a spokesperson for Effingham County, said the courthouse was closed after Yekel’s body was discovered.
“Court was not in session,” Lastinger said. “Support and resources will be made available to all county employees who worked with or may have known the deceased.”
All county offices closed at noon Tuesday, Lastinger said. He said services are set to resume as normal on Thursday.
A crisis response team was called to provide counseling at the Effingham County Administrative Complex. County employees are asked to call 1-855-283-1917 to arrange up to six free face-to-face counseling sessions with a provider.
“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,” county manager Tim Callanan said in a press release.
While seeking reelection in May, Yekel spoke to The Georgia Virtue about his background, his time on the bench and his vision for the court. He said he’d tried more than 500 criminal and civil cases before becoming a judge, including 50 murder cases and two involving the death penalty.
Yekel said he averaged between 12 and 15 days of court each month as a judge, which was a significant increase from his predecessor. Effingham County, less than 20 miles inland from Savannah, has a population of about 71,000.
Yekel was sued in June by Lisa Crawford, a former Effingham County State Court administrator who alleged she was wrongly fired and accused of being involved in a conspiracy to provide preferential treatment to another judge.
In her complaint, Crawford said Yekel ignored most of her attempts to communicate, then fired her.
Crawford said her termination letter, signed by Yekel, accused her of helping another judge to get charges dropped or dismissed in certain driving-related cases. She said Yekel acted recklessly, calling his conduct “extreme and outrageous.”
In his answer to Crawford’s complaint, Yekel denied the bulk of her allegations. He said her claims, including emotional distress, invasion of privacy and business interference, were without merit. The case remains pending in the Effingham County Superior Court.
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