A former U.S. Attorney was found dead at her home in Virginia Saturday morning, according to authorities.
Jessica Aber, 43, was found in her home in Alexandria after the Alexandria Police Department responded to a call for an unresponsive woman around 9:18 a.m., according to the department.
The department said it is investigating the death “as a matter of protocol” and that the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia will provide the cause of death.
“Her professionalism, grace, and legal acumen set the standard,” Erik S. Siebert, the current U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said in a statement. “Though we are devastated by this loss, each of us in the Eastern District of Virginia will look to her example and endeavor to live up to that standard.”
The office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment Sunday.
Who was Jessica Aber?
Aber served as a federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia from August of 2021 until President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.
She was nominated to the position by former President Joe Biden and unanimously confirmed by the Senate.
During her time as leader, the Eastern District saw money laundering charges against two Russian nationals, a guilty plea from Siemens Energy over corporate espionage charges and murder convictions against a MS-13 member.
In 2023, the Eastern District of Virginia charged four Russia-affiliated military personnel with war crimes including unlawful confinement, inhuman treatment and torture of a U.S. national in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in 2022.
Prior to her appointment, Aber served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, prosecuting financial fraud, public corruption, violent crime and child exploitation cases as well as being the Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division for the district.
“I’ve had the privilege of spending my career as a prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia working alongside talented, hard-working public servants who manage matters affecting citizens here and across the world,” Aber said in a press release announcing her resignation.
