At attorney found dead in New York may be tied to the shooting of federal Judge Esther Salas's son and husband in New Jersey, according to the authorities.
Manhattan lawyer Roy Den Hollander was found dead by what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
It is believed that Hollander killed Salas's son and husband before killing himself.
After the attack, conspiracy theories swirled online because Salas is connected to Jeffrey Epstein.
Salas is a judge who is overseeing a lawsuit against the Deutsche Bank, which is accused of failing "to properly monitor customers that the Bank itself deemed to be high risk, including, among others, the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein."
What's particularly notable is that the gunman dressed up as a FedEx deliveryman so that he could get close enough to shoot the husband and son of the federal judge.
Salas was physically uninjured.
More details on this alarmingly unusual case below:
The FBI is now officially involved in the investigation.
The gunman dressed up as a FedEx driver, but it turns out he was a Manhattan lawyer.
He drove to New Jersey to target Judge Esther Salas' family.
According to Fortune:
A gunman posing as a FedEx driver shot and killed the 20-year-old son of a federal judge in North Brunswick, N.J., on Sunday, and badly wounded her husband.
The judge in question is Esther Salas. Earlier in the week, she was assigned to oversee a lawsuit brought by investors against Deutsche Bank over its involvement in the handling of financial matters related to sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.
The motive for the shooting is unclear. On Sunday evening, federal law enforcement asked for the public’s help in solving the crime.
On Monday afternoon, multiple news reports cited police sources suggesting a deceased lawyer is a prime suspect in the case. The lawyer—who allegedly was a men’s rights activist with a case before the judge—was reportedly found dead hours after the shooting, and was in the possession of a package addressed to the judge.
In the lawsuit against Deutsche Bank, investors claim they lost money as a result of the financial giant having to pay regulators $150 million for compliance failures related to Epstein. The disgraced financier was arrested for the sex trafficking of minors in 2019. He died in a Manhattan jail cell last August in an apparent suicide.
Judge Salas is respected by many for her judicial temperament.
She has presided over many high-profile cases, which is why she was trusted to oversee the class action lawsuit against Deutsche Bank, which is tied to Jeffrey Epstein.
Rolling Stone has more details on Salas and her role in the case that is related to Epstein:
Salas, 51, was nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama in 2010 and confirmed in 2011, becoming the first Latina U.S. District Court judge in New Jersey. In a profile for New Jersey Monthly, a federal prosecutor referred to Salas as having “the perfect judicial temperament. She treats everyone as equal.”
Salas has presided over a number of high-profile cases, including the 2018 sentencing of Farad Roland, the leader of Newark’s South Side Cartel, who admitted in court to five murders, an armed carjacking, and assault with a deadly weapon, among other charges. She also oversaw the trial of Teresa Giudice, the Real Housewives of New Jersey star whom Salas sentenced to 15 months in prison for mortgage and bank fraud in 2013. (An attorney for Giudice referred to the attack on Salas’s family as “devastating” and said Giudice was “praying very heavily for Judge Salas and her family.”) Law enforcement authorities were unaware of any violent threats made against Salas or her family, according to CNN.
Prior to the deceased suspect being found, conspiracy theories about the attack swirled on the internet due to Salas’s tenuous connection to the deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein (himself the focal point of numerous conspiracy theories). As of last week, Salas was overseeing a class action lawsuit brought against Deutsche Bank on behalf of investors. The suit alleges that Deutsche Bank “failed to properly monitor customers that the Bank itself deemed to be high risk, including, among others, the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein,” according to court documents.
Many people fear that this may be an intimidation tactic against Judge Salas.
Her son died in the attack and her husband is critically wounded.
Salas was in the home's basement during the shooting.
While there are many theories connecting the attack to Epstein, others believe that the shooter could have potentially been motivated by sexism.
Fox News reports that the attorney who shot Salas's family had a gender-equity lawsuit that was hear by Salas in 2015:
Roy Den Hollander, a self-described “anti-feminist” lawyer known for lawsuits challenging perceived infringements of “men’s rights,” has been identified as the main suspect in the shooting at U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas’ home in North Brunswick, according to officials and reports. The man had appeared before the judge in the past, the officials said.
He was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, law enforcement officials said.
The lawyer had a gender-equity lawsuit, filed in 2015, that was being heard by Salas involving a young woman who wanted to register for the military draft. He also mentioned the judge in writings posted online, deriding her as a mere ladder-climber who traded on her Hispanic heritage to get ahead.
A package addressed to Salas was found along with the lawyer’s body, the officials said.
In a screed that the lawyer posted online, he also wrote of posing as a FedEx delivery person to speak with a young girl, the same tactic the gunman apparently used at the door to the judge’s family home.
Den Hollander was best known in years past for unsuccessful lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of “ladies night” promotions at bars and nightclubs.
The 2015 gender-equity lawsuit was challenging the constitutionality of the Selective Service draft. Elizabeth Kyle-LaBell, 21, of New Jersey, was arguing that the draft shouldn't be limited to men and should include women.
Den Hollander isn't believed to have had involvement in the case since 2019, but the litigation is still ongoing.
However, many fear that her connection to the Epstein case may have been the catalyst for this tragic events.
The New York Post also confirms Salas's high-profile involvement in the Epstein scandal:
She has worked on several high-profile cases, and was recently assigned a class-action suit from Deutsche Bank investors who claim the company failed to monitor “high-risk” customers including late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The FBI declined immediate comment on the Catskills body and its possible ties to the case.
Our deepest and most sincere condolences go out to Judge Salas.
May justice be served.
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