Former US Attorney Jessica Aber’s Official Cause Of Death Determined

Jessica Aber, who served as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia during former President Joe Biden‘s administration, suffered a “sudden unexpected death in epilepsy,” the Virginia Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed to the Virginian-Pilot.

Aber, 43, was found dead in March and it’s unclear why it took five months for her official cause of death to be determined. The Alexandria Police Department initially reported that detectives “found no evidence suggesting that her death was caused by anything other than natural causes.”

Aber’s family confirmed that she suffered from “epilepsy and epileptic seizures for many years” in a statement to the Virginian-Pilot. The 43-year-old was found dead inside her Alexandria, Virginia, home on March 22 at around 9:20 a.m. after police received a report of an unresponsive woman, according to a statement from the Alexandria Police Department.

A family friend told NBC News that the believe Aber suffered a medical problem and two senior Department of Justice officials said they didn’t suspect foul play was involved in her death. Aber served as the U.S. attorney for Virginia for the majority of Biden’s administration, having been sworn in unanimously by the Senate and taking office in October 2021, before resigning shortly after President Donald Trump‘s inauguration in January.

Aber oversaw a staff of about 300 prosecutors and others while serving her role, having previously worked for the Department of Justice as an assistant U.S. attorney, prosecuting financial fraud, public corruption, violent crime and child exploitation cases, her online biography states.

“We are heartbroken beyond words to learn of the passing of our friend and former colleague, U.S. Attorney Jessica Aber,” Current U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Erik Siebert said in a statement. “She was unmatched as a leader, mentor, and prosecutor, and she is simply irreplaceable as a human being. We remain in awe of how much she accomplished in her all too brief time in this world.”