Suspected murder victim identified

The 69-year-old man found dead of blunt force trauma in his minivan in Lincoln County has been identified as Ernest Cleon Judd of Libby.

Judd and his vehicle were found by a passing driver at about 2 p.m. Sunday in the lower part of the Yaak River area on a gravel U.S. Forest Service road. Initially investigated as a suicide, Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe reported Tuesday that the department now believes Judd was murdered.

According to the Montana Department of Justice’s Sexual or Violent Offender Registry, Judd is a tier 2 registered sex offender. He was convicted in 2006 of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl the year before.

His tier 2 assignment means he was deemed to have a moderate risk of being a repeat sexual offender.

Bowe said his department is aware of Judd’s history, but that there is currently no indication that it has anything to do with his death.

Bowe also addressed a rumor that Judd had recently won a sizable amount of money at a casino, which could have been a possible factor in a murder.

“We’re following all those leads, and as of right now we can’t pin that as a motive either,” Bowe said. “We’ve heard the same rumors, and all they are right now are rumors.”