FBI links suspect in deadly ambush at judge's home to murder of California attorney

The FBI has linked the Sunday shooting attack at the New Jersey home of federal judge Esther Salas — which left her 20-year-old son dead and her husband critically wounded — to the murder of an attorney earlier this month in Southern California. 

Multiple law enforcement sources told CBS News the suspect, 72-year-old attorney Roy Den Hollander, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and was found in a car in upstate New York Monday. The suspect came to Salas' house wearing a FedEx uniform and a COVID-style mask, sources confirmed. Salas was in the basement at the time of the attack and was not hurt, but her husband, Mark Anderl, remains in critical condition. Her son, Daniel Anderl, was killed.

Investigators believe Salas was the "intended target" of the attack, a law enforcement source told CBS News. Den Hollander had a history of pursuing what he called "antifeminist" lawsuits, alleging gender discrimination against men.

On Wednesday, the FBI Newark confirmed they are working with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office and have evidence linking Den Hollander to the fatal shooting of another men's rights attorney, Marc Angelucci. The 52-year-old Angelucci was shot and killed at his Crestline home July 11, reports CBS Los Angeles.

Longtime friend Harry Crouch, president of the National Coalition For Men, told the station he had known Angelucci, who served as the organization's vice president, for more than 20 years.

"He was loved by virtually everybody in the men's rights movement," Crouch told CBS Los Angeles. "He was like our right leg."

Crouch said he learned from people at Angelucci's home that the shooter was dressed as a delivery person, and said he "immediately saw a link" to the attack on Salas' family. Crouch told the station he knew Den Hollander, describing him as "nut job." Den Hollander was once on National Coalition for Men's board, he said, but was removed after threatening Crouch.

FBI officials in Newark, New Jersey, on Wednesday would not describe the evidence or explain how it ties into the two cases, reports the Associated Press. Den Hollander is considered a prime suspect in Angelucci's killing, a source said.

Den Hollander had previously been an attorney in a case before Salas in which a female plaintiff argued that it was unconstitutional to prevent women from registering for the draft. 

Den Hollander had been involved in other gender-related lawsuits in the past, including one in which he sued Columbia University claiming its women's studies program represented "bigotry against men." The case was dismissed. He also tried and failed to have the Violence Against Women Act overturned.

Den Hollander had been apparently diagnosed with terminal cancer before his death, according to a law enforcement source. 

Salas' husband, Mark Anderl, is a criminal defense attorney and former Essex County prosecutor. His law partner David Oakley said Salas' son, Daniel, was a college student at the Catholic University of America who "was planning to follow his mother and father into a career in law." 

Salas is best known for presiding over the case of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Teresa Giudice and her husband, Joe Giudice. They pleaded guilty to fraud charges in 2014. Teresa was sentenced to 15 months in prison while Joe was hit with a 41-month sentence.

The Associated Press reports Salas is presiding over a lawsuit in which Deutsche Bank investors assert the bank made false and misleading statements about its anti-money laundering policies and didn't keep tabs on "high-risk" customers including convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

CBS News' Pat Milton and Andy Triay contributed to this report.