A homicide investigation is underway in Michigan after a former police oversight commissioner was found dead inside her Ann Arbor home this week, authorities said.
Officers with the Ann Arbor police department were conducting a welfare check when they discovered the body of Jude Walton on Thursday around 1:30 p.m., according to a news release. Her employer made the request after she failed to show up for work that day.
“There were obvious signs that this was a homicide,” Interim Police Chief Aimee Metzer told CBS Detroit. Authorities said they also uncovered evidence suggesting a potential break-in, including damage to the back door.
A cause of death was not announced and, as of Friday afternoon, no suspects have been arrested.
Avalon Housing, where Walton worked as director of employee experience, released a statement on social media, describing her as “incredibly thoughtful, kind, funny, talented, smart, self-effacing, and wise.”
“It’s impossible to imagine Avalon without her. We are grieving this unreal loss,” said Avalon, which provides housing solutions to the homeless.
Walton also previously served as commissioner of the Independent Community Police Oversight Commission, according to the news release. She’d been part of the commission since its inception in 2018 and served as commissioner the entire time she worked there. She left the organization in 2022.
“We are extremely saddened to hear of her death and we lift her family and friends up in prayer at this terrible time,” the commission said in an online statement.
According to its website, the commission “was established as a step in reframing the relationship that the residents of Ann Arbor have with the police” and is “an investment in the smart, equitable, community-oriented policing that the Ann Arbor Police Department strives for and that our community deserves.”
Authorities have asked anyone with information about the case to contact law enforcement.