Judge Salas Speaks Out For First Time Since Son’s Killing in Emotional Video Tribute: ‘My Family Will Never Be The Same’

Judge Esther Salas spoke out on Monday for the first time since her husband was wounded and her son was killed in their New Jersey home last month — lamenting that her family “will never be the same” and that she is living “every parent’s worst nightmare.”

“Two weeks ago, my life as I knew it changed in an instant, and my family will never be the same,” Salas said at the beginning of her nine-minute tribute. “A madman, who I believe was targeting me because of my position as a federal judge, came to my house.”

Salas explained that the gunman, later identified as Roy Den Hollander, had a complete dossier on her family, and knew where they lived and where they went to church.

Salas detailed the events leading up to the tragic moment, holding back tears as she described her son’s “glorious” birthday weekend, during which they hosted some of his friends from the Catholic University of America.

After cleaning up from the weekend’s festivities, Salas and her son, Daniel, went downstairs to the basement.

“We were chatting, as we always do. And Daniel said, ‘Mom, let’s keep talking, I love talking to you, Mom.’ It was at that exact moment that the doorbell rang, and Daniel looked at me and said, ‘Who is that?’ And before I could say a word, he sprinted upstairs. Within seconds, I heard the sound of bullets and someone screaming, ‘No!’”

Salas explained that her son took the first bullet in his chest in order to protect his father. Hollander then shot Salas’ husband three times, severely wounding but not killing him.

“We are living every parent’s worst nightmare — making preparations to bury our only child, Daniel,” Salas continued. “My family has experienced a pain that no one should ever have to endure.”

Salas noted that she understands her decisions as a federal judge may be scrutinized — explaining that it is part of her job to make tough calls.

“But what we cannot accept is when we are forced to live in fear for our lives because personal information, like our home addresses, can be easily obtained by anyone seeking to do us or our families harm,” she added. “Unfortunately, for my family, the threat was real and the free flow of information from the internet allowed this sick and depraved human being to find all our personal information and target us.”

She called for the information of federal judges to be removed from the internet — begging law enforcement to do something to protect people in the future to ensure that her son’s death was not in vain.

“And to everyone who reached out, and to everyone who said a prayer, and to everyone who is keeping my family in your thoughts – thank you,” Salas said, breaking down. “The outpouring of love has been overwhelming and I can tell you it has lifted us during our darkest hours. I just want to say thank you to you all and I love you.”

Watch above, via YouTube.