In this April 30, 2013 file photo, Justice Sheila Abdus-Salaam looks on as members of the state Senate Judiciary Committee vote unanimously to advance her nomination to fill a vacancy on the Court of Appeals at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y.

The husband of US judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam, who was found dead last week in a New York City river, has challenged reports of her apparent suicide.

Rev Gregory Jacobs joined police on Wednesday and dismissed the possibility that she may have taken her own life.

The 65-year-old judge was found dead in the Hudson River with no signs of foul play or criminality, police say.

Speaking about the theory of suicide, Jacobs wrote in a statement to NBC News, “These reports have frequently included unsubstantiated comments concerning my wife’s possible mental and emotional state of mind at the time of her death.”

“Those of us who loved Sheila and knew her well do not believe that these unfounded conclusions have any basis in reality.”

Salaam, the first black woman to serve in New York’s highest court, was discovered on 12 April, a day after her husband reported her missing.