Judge Esther Salas Was the Target of an Anti-Feminist Lawyer, but Her Son Was Killed Instead

In August 2020, U.S. District Judge Esther Salas released a video statement about the death of her son, Daniel Anderl. "Two weeks ago, my life as I knew it changed in an instant," she shared, "and my life will never be the same." She went on to describe the day her son's life ended, saying he died at the hands of a "mad man" who she believed was targeting their family. Despite the devastation that Judge Salas must have been feeling, she was calm and collected.

As she continued on with the story of how her son was killed, the judge's voice trembled. She took a moment to acknowledge the fact that making difficult decisions is part of her job. On occasion, this may mean some people walk out of her courtroom filled with rage. Rarely does it go beyond that, until a tragic day in July 2020. What happened to Daniel Anderl? Here's what we know.

According to Judge Salas, her son was hoping to invite a few friends over to celebrate his 20th birthday. Although Judge Salas and her husband Mark had some reservations about having people over due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they thought they could "adhere to safety guidelines." She said the weekend was glorious and was filled with "love, laughter, and smiles."

After Anderl's last friend departed on Sunday, his parents went to church and gave their son a break from his duties as an usher. He did not have to accompany them. Later that afternoon, Judge Salas and her son were in the basement cleaning up after a weekend of celebrating when they heard the doorbell ring. Anderl sprinted upstairs to see who was at the door. "Within seconds, I heard the sound of bullets," said Judge Salas.

She later learned that a man posing as a FedEx delivery driver, complete with a package in his hand, opened fire when the door was open. Anderl jumped in front of his father and took the first bullet in his chest. "The monster then turned his attention to my husband," said Judge Salas. Mark was shot three times and had to endure multiple surgeries. Anderl, their only child, was killed. They later identified Roy Den Hollander as the man who did it.

Eight days before Mark was critically wounded and Anderl was murdered, Hollander killed a man in California. The 72-year-old lawyer pulled the same trick, pretending to have a package for delivery, per CBS News. A 2,000-page manifesto on Hollander's website showed that he was incredibly misogynistic and was a self-described men's rights activist. He blamed feminism for what he felt was the oppression of men, which he said was often played out in the courtroom.

Hollander proudly referred to himself as an "anti-feminist attorney" and filed lawsuits against the "all-male military draft, a women's studies program at a university, and ladies' nights at bars." Judge Salas told NPR that Hollander was angry at her for being a Latina woman, especially after she postponed ruling on one of his cases at the request of the government.

The day after the attack on Judge Salas and her family, Hollander was found dead in his car from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, per CBS News. He was discovered in the small town of Roscoe, in Upstate New York. Authorities have no idea why Hollander chose that location to take his own life.