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Police: Former Roseville Judge Steenland found dead in her home

Posted at 4:30 AM, Sep 13, 2019
and last updated 2019-09-13 05:59:11-04

ROSEVILLE, Mich. (WXYZ) — Roseville police have confirmed the death of former Roseville Judge Catherine Steenland.

They say her body was found inside her home on Thursday.

The death is being investigated as a possible suicide.

She had been accused of fleeing the scene of an accident back in September 2017.

James Nielsen said he and his 9-year-old daughter were heading north on Gratiot near Masonic Boulevard in September 2017 when a woman allegedly hit them in the turnaround lane.

"I was beeping the horn. It didn't get her attention. She looked back at me and then floored it. I followed her to the end of the street, got her license plate, called 911 and then she took off again,” Nielsen says.

Nielsen says they went to the hospital, he chipped his tooth and had neck and back pain. His daughter received no injuries.

Days later he says police told him the person accused of hitting him was Honorable Judge Catherine Steenland of the 39th District Court in Roseville.

In November 2018, Steenland pleaded no contest to charges of Failure to Stop at the Scene of a Personal Injury Accident and Failure to Report an Accident.

Police say further details regarding her death will be released later this morning.