LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — An embattled former Las Vegas judge, who resigned from the bench in 2021, died by suicide Friday, sources told the 8 News Now Investigators.
Melanie Andress-Tobiasson, 55, stepped down as a Las Vegas justice of the peace prior to a hearing on ethics charges. Her ethics trial was scheduled to start in 2021. As part of a deal, her resignation resulted in the trial being dropped.
Nevada’s Judicial Discipline Commission investigated Tobiasson for almost two years. She faced a list of charges related to asking police to investigate a clothing store where her daughter worked. The former judge believed it was a front for prostitution.
In an interview with the 8 News Now Investigators, Tobiasson criticized the Las Vegas Metro Police Department for ignoring information she provided, saying she was trying to save her daughter from sex trafficking.
Police later tracked Tobiasson’s phone, saying she was interfering with a vice investigation, according to the complaint. The FBI was conducting its own investigation into the unit at the same time, the 8 News Now Investigators uncovered. They later closed the case without charging any officer.
Tobiasson was a graduate of Bishop Gorman High School. She worked for the Clark County District Attorney’s Office before taking the bench in 1999.
Tobiasson won re-election multiple times.
Help is available 24/7 by calling the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.
