Former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Jessica Aber was found dead in Alexandria on Saturday morning, police said. She was 43.
Police discovered Aber's body while responding to a report of an unresponsive woman around 9:20 a.m., the Alexandria Police Department said in a statement.
Police believe the death was the result of a longstanding medical issue, a friend of the family told NBC News.
Police said that they would investigate the circumstances as a matter of protocol but that the medical examiner's office would determine the cause and manner of death.
Two former senior Justice Department officials with knowledge of the matter told NBC News that authorities have found no reason to suspect foul play.
Aber resigned as U.S. attorney on Jan. 20, the day President Donald Trump was inaugurated.
She was appointed by President Joe Biden on Aug. 10, 2021, and was then confirmed by the Senate.
Aber had been an assistant U.S. attorney for the district since 2009 and was deputy chief of the criminal division before being named U.S. attorney, her department biography says.
U.S. attorneys are political appointees and can be removed at the will of the president. Trump in February said on Truth Social he “instructed the termination” of all the remaining U.S. attorneys under Biden.
The U.S. attorney for the district, Erik S. Siebert, said he and the office were heartbroken over Aber’s death.
“She was unmatched as a leader, mentor, and prosecutor, and she is simply irreplaceable as a human being,” he said in a statement.
“She loved EDVA and EDVA loved her back,” Siebert wrote, referring to the Eastern District of Virginia.
U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi also expressed her condolences, saying, “The loss of Jessica Aber, former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, is deeply tragic.”
“Our hearts and prayers go out to her family and friends during this profoundly difficult time,” Bondi said.
