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The body of Den Hollander -- who recently had a case before the judge -- was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the Sullivan County town of Rockland in New York State.
"Den Hollander is now deceased," U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Craig Carpenito announced Monday afternoon while calling him the "primary suspect."
The investigation was continuing, Carpenito emphasized. He asked anyone with information that could assist authorities in the case call the FBI's Newark Field Office: (973) 792-2000 (press option #2).
The New York-based lawyer recently had a case before Salas regarding the U.S. Military’s male-only draft registration system, according to court records.The suit argues in part the requiring only men to register in the draft is discriminatory against both genders and violates a portion of the U.S. Constitution.
In 2015, Salas had agreed to hear the case of a woman represented by Hollander who sued the federal Selective Service System for the ability to register for the draft, New Jersey Globe reports.
Around 5 p.m. Sunday, a shooter came to the judge's North Brunswick home dressed as a FedEx delivery man, the opened fire.
Mark Anderl, a 63-year-old attorney and Salas' husband, was shot when he answered the door -- as was his and Salas's son, Daniel Anderl, 20, who came running.
Mark Anderl reportedly was in critical but stable condition after undergoing surgery at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick.
Daniel Anderl died after being shot in the heart, North Brunswick Mayor Francis Womack told reporters.
Judge Salas was believed to be in the basement at the time of the shooting, reports say. She wasn't injured in the attack.
The incident comes just four days after Salas, 51, was assigned the civil case tied to Jeffrey Epstein brought by Deutsche Bank investors.
Salas in 2014 sentenced “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Teresa Giudice to more than a year in prison for fraud.
Three years later, she barred federal prosecutors from seeking the death penalty against an alleged gang leader charged in multiple killings. The gang member was later sentenced to 45 years in prison.
U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr issued a statement Monday afternoon: "On behalf of the entire Justice Department, I send my deepest condolences to Judge Salas and her family on the death of their son and wish her husband a swift and complete recovery. This kind of lawless, evil action carried out against a member of the federal judiciary will not be tolerated, and I have ordered the full resources of the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service to investigate the matter.”
Salas is the first Hispanic woman to serve on the federal bench in New Jersey. She has been in her seat for nine years and is a judge of the U.S. District Court in Newark. She worked as a public defender for nine years previously.
Salas said in a February 2018 interview with NJ Monthly that her son was leaning toward a future in law.
"I don’t want to dissuade him, but I was pulling for a doctor," the judge said of her then-17-year-old son. "He’s been arguing with us since he could talk -- practicing his advocacy skills."
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