The son of a federal judge was killed and her husband was wounded when a gunman opened fire at their home in Middlesex County Sunday evening, setting off a massive investigation involving multiple state and federal law enforcement agencies.
Mark Anderl, 63, a well-known criminal defense attorney and the husband of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, and their son, Daniel, 20, were shot at about 5 p.m. at their home in North Brunswick.
Salas, who sources say was in the basement of the home at the time, was not injured in the shooting.
The gunman may have been dressed as a FedEx deliveryman, two law enforcement sources told NJ Advance Media.
Chief U.S. District Court Judge Freda Wolfson told The Associated Press that the couple’s son was killed and Mark Anderl had been wounded in the shooting.
North Brunswick Mayor Francis “Mac” Womack said the judge’s husband was in critical condition and underwent surgery and is now in stable condition. He confirmed the couple’s son had died.
The FBI said they were searching for one suspect, and asked for help from the public.
Mark Anderl in a file photo.Noah K. Murray
Anderl served as an assistant prosecutor in Essex County before entering private practice.
Their son was a student at Catholic University.
“He was planning on going to law school,” said a friend, Joe Mauro. ”He had his whole future ahead...”
Judge Salas, who is based in Newark, was the first Hispanic female to be appointed to the U.S. District Court in New Jersey.
Salas, 51, has handled cases involving members of the Grape Street Crips, in connection with a long-running drug-trafficking network that was taken down by the FBI in 2015. She was also the judge who sent Real Housewives stars Joe and Teresa Giudice to prison.
Salas was nominated by President Obama as a U.S. District Court judge in December 2010. She was confirmed by the Senate in June 2011.
She met her husband when he was an assistant prosecutor in the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and she was a second-year law school intern. “I was literally getting fingerprinted” when Mark came over to talk, she told NJ Monthly in a 2018 interview. “We’ve been inseparable since 1992.”
Salas worked nine years as an assistant federal public defender in Newark. She earned her bachelor’s and law degrees from Rutgers University.
Gov. Phil Murphy said Judge Salas and her family “are in our thoughts at this time as they cope with this senseless act. This tragedy is our latest reminder that gun violence remains a crisis in our country and that our work to make every community safer isn’t done.”
U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, D-N.J., said he knows Salas and her husband well, and was proud to recommend her for nomination to New Jersey’s 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,” he said.
Anyone with information for investigators can call the FBI at 973-792-3000, option 2.
Investigators at the shooting scene at Judge Esther Salas' home in North Brunswick Sunday, July 19, 2020.(Avalon Zoppo | NJ Advance Media)
Editor’s note: The FBI updated the tip line number early Monday.
- Reporter Kevin Shea contributed to this story.
Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL.
Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com.