U.S. District Judge Esther Salas. Photo: Carmen Natale/ALM

A lawyer whose body was found in New York Monday morning is being investigated as the possible shooter who killed the son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas and severely wounded her husband in New Jersey Sunday night, according to multiple media reports,

The lawyer, who had a case before Salas in 2015, apparently died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, ABC News said. NBC New York, citing unnamed sources, said the man was an attorney who filed various sorts of civil lawsuits over the years.

A FedEx package addressed to Salas was found in a car at the scene, media accounts said.

A motive has thus far been missing from official accounts of Sunday's shooting. The New York State Police confirmed that it is investigating the discovery of a body, but referred questions to the FBI about any link to the New Jersey shooting. The FBI, the lead agency in the investigation, has not made any announcements about the discovery.

An unidentified gunman killed Salas' son, Daniel Anderl, and left her husband, defense attorney Mark Anderl, in critical condition, on the doorstep of their North Brunswick home Sunday. The FBI said it is seeking information on one suspect. That suspect was reportedly wearing a FedEx uniform.

The New York Times reported that Salas previously told a neighbor that being a public figure could make her a target. "She had some high-profile cases, and she was always a little concerned," that neighbor told the Times.

Salas has had plenty of cases cast her in the limelight. On July 16, a shareholder class action case was assigned to Salas accusing Deutsche Bank of failing to properly monitor customers that were considered high risk, including disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The case came shortly after Deutsche Bank was fined $150 million in a settlement with New York state regulators, who accused the bank of  processing millions of dollars worth of suspicious payments from accounts belonging to Epstein.

Gustavo Bruckner of Pomerantz in New York, who filed the Deutsche Bank suit, declined to comment on widespread speculation about a possible connection between his case and the shooting. "We are very saddened to hear about Judge Salas' loss amidst this unspeakable tragedy," he said.

In 2014, Salas sentenced reality TV star Teresa Giudice of "Real Housewives of New Jersey" to 46 months in jail and the star's husband, Joe Giudice, to 41 months, for tax evasion charges.

In 2018, Salas issued a 45-year sentence to Farad Roland, the leader of one of Newark's most violent street gangs, for his role in five murders, an armed carjacking, an armed robbery of a drug dealer and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

David Lat, a former assistant U.S. attorney in the District of New Jersey who served as a prosecutor while Salas was a federal public defender, called Salas a "highly respected and beloved member of the bar before taking the bench." Lat, founder of the legal blog Above the Law, and now a legal recruiter, said: "My suspicion is that this horrific attack is related to Judge Salas's work. She is by all accounts a wonderful person, not someone with many personal enemies. But I think it's premature to say this is related to the Deutsche Bank litigation. The case was assigned to her just a few days ago, and she hasn't done anything in the case to anger anyone. And if, God forbid, something were to happen to Judge Salas, the case would be reassigned to another judge and still move forward."

Federal court practitioners are "shocked and saddened" by the shooting, said Kerri Chewning, president of the Association of the Federal Bar of the State of New Jersey.

"Judge Salas is a cherished member of our federal family and we are heartbroken by this tragedy. We are keeping Judge Salas and her family in our thoughts and prayers," said Chewning. "Our federal judges are heroes. They work tirelessly to keep our justice system moving even in the face of adversity. They devote themselves to their vocation regardless of the risks inherent with being a federal judge. And I know that the U.S. Marshals Service works hard to ensure that our judges are protected."

New Jersey State Bar Association President Kimberly Yonta expressed condolences to Salas and her husband on behalf of the group's members. "There can be no greater agony for a parent than the death of a child," Yonta said.

"I also send healing thoughts to Mark Anderl as he fights to recover from this tragic attack that is yet another example of the kind of senseless violence that plagues our society. I have known Mark for many years and he has rightly earned a reputation as a highly regarded attorney who handles matters with integrity," Yonta said.