A self-described anti-feminist lawyer, reported dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, is the sole suspect in the fatal shooting of a federal judge’s son in New Jersey and the wounding of her husband, the FBI said on Monday.
Roy Den Hollander, who once sued Manhattan nightclubs for offering women discounts on drinks and previously had a case in front of the judge, Esther Salas, challenging the male-only draft, is dead, the FBI’s Newark office said on Twitter.
Hollander had been found earlier on Monday in an apparent suicide about 90 miles (145 km) north of New York City, the Daily Beast and other media reported, citing law enforcement sources.
The FBI’s announcement followed a massive manhunt for a lone gunman suspected of attacking Salas’ home in North Brunswick, New Jersey on Sunday evening. Salas was not injured, but her 20-year-old son Daniel Anderl was killed and her husband suffered gunshot wounds. Mark Anderl, 63, was in stable condition after undergoing surgery, North Brunswick Mayor Francis Womack said.
Salas, 51, was nominated to her position by President Barack Obama in 2010 and in the following year became the first Latina to serve on the District Court of New Jersey, a seat from which she presided over a number of high-profile cases.
Those cases included the sentencing of members of the Grape Street Crips, a gang charged with selling drugs and other crimes in 2015, and the convictions of co-stars of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” reality TV show.
She also presided over a 2015 case brought by a New Jersey woman, Elizabeth Kyle-Labell, challenging the male-only military draft. Hollander appeared for the plaintiff in that case before being replaced in June 2019, court records show.
It is not clear how, if in any way, that case was connected to the shooting. In 2019 Salas ruled that Kyle-Labell’s lawsuit against the Selective Service System could go forward, raising the prospect of a future change to the draft.
Hollander’s body was found in a car in the town of Rockland, New York on Monday, ABC News reported. A FedEx package addressed to Salas was discovered in the car, ABC News said.
Investigators say the shooter arrived at the judge’s family home at about 5 p.m. (2100 GMT) on Sunday, dressed as a FedEx driver. The suspect then fired into the home, wounding the husband and killing the son. Judge Salas was in the basement.
Salas’ husband was an assistant prosecutor in Essex County before becoming a defense attorney. He and his partner, David Oakley, handle a variety of felonies, including homicide, sexual assault and fraud cases, according to their website. Neither Anderl nor Oakley could be reached for comment.
The son was an aspiring lawyer who was a student at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. He had just finished celebrating his 20th birthday with visiting university friends, according to Marion Costanza, a family friend who lives three houses away.
“Now they are never going to see him again,” Costanza said. “I want people to know what a good kid he was.”
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and U.S. Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey were among political leaders who expressed concern about the incident on Twitter.
Menendez said he knew Judge Salas well and had recommended her appointment to the federal bench.
“My prayers are with Judge Salas and her family, and that those responsible for this horrendous act are swiftly apprehended and brought to justice,” Menendez wrote.
(Reporting by Mark Hosenball in Washington, Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut, and Karen Freifeld and Maria Caspani in New York; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Dan Grebler and Marguerita Choy)
