A Biden-appointed former US attorney who was found dead in her Virginia home died from epilepsy, according to officials.
Jessica Aber, 43, died in March after suffering ‘sudden unexpected death in epilepsy,’ per the Medical Examiner’s Office.
Aber’s manner of death was ruled as ‘natural,’ an official with the Medical Examiner’s Office told The Virginian-Pilot.
The Alexandria Police Department announced in March that they found no evidence that would suggest her death resulted from anything other than natural causes.
Authorities explained that Aber had a longstanding medical issue, with her family previously noting her struggle with epilepsy and epileptic seizures over many years.
“Jess lived with epilepsy and epileptic seizures for countless years,” stated her family. “On Tuesday, March 25, the Alexandria (Virginia) Police indicated that they believe her death was due to natural causes,” they added shortly after Aber’s passing.
“We anticipate further information from the medical examiner in the upcoming weeks. Our family is shocked and deeply mourning, and we kindly ask for privacy as we cope with this unimaginable loss.”
Fatal epileptic seizures, known as Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy, are uncommon but pose a significant risk to those living with the condition.
Jessica Aber’s family members had previously revealed that she suffered from epilepsy and epileptic seizures for years, and died in her sleep
Aber, 43, once the top prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia , was found unresponsive in her Washington DC home on March 22
Aber, once Virginia’s top prosecutor, resigned from her post on the day that President Donald Trump began his second term in January.
Paving her way through the Justice Department, she was eventually appointed by former President Joe Biden in 2021 to serve as the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, or EDVA, making her one of the few women to lead the department.
The district encompasses Northern Virginia, the Pentagon, Langley, the Port of Norfolk and the corridors of federal power in Richmond.
It is also a nerve center of legal activity involving terrorism, espionage, public corruption, and corporate crime.
During her time in the post, Aber led a team of roughly 300 lawyers and staff, prosecuting some of the nation’s most sensitive and consequential cases.
Aber worked in the investigation of former CIA analyst Asif Rahman, who pleaded guilty to leaking Israel’s plan to strike Iran last year.
She was also part of several probes into illegal activities by Russia-tied individuals.
But when Trump re-entered the White House on January 20, Aber stepped down, saying she felt the incoming administration expected her to resign as a Biden-appointee.
During her time in the post, Aber led a team of roughly 300 lawyers and staff, prosecuting some of the nation’s most sensitive and consequential cases
‘It’s a political job,’ she said during the Richmond Police Department’s year-end crime briefing, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
‘President Trump hasn’t indicated explicitly how long, if it all, he would keep the Biden U.S. attorneys, but I decided that I would leave at the end of President Biden’s time.’
In her resignation letter, Aber said working as a U.S. attorney was ‘an honor beyond measure.’
‘I am deeply grateful to senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and to President Biden for the opportunity to lead this office and to Attorney General Garland for his steadfast leadership,’ Aber said in January.
‘I am proud of the work we have done with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to enforce the law and build community trust.’
