Jessica Aber, the former federal prosecutor who resigned on the day that President Donald Trump took office for the second time earlier this year, has died. She was 43.
Aber was found dead at a home in Alexandria, Va., around 9:18 local time on the morning of Saturday, March 22, according to a statement from the Alexandria Police Department (APD).
Police responded to a report of an unresponsive woman at a home in the 900 block of Beverly Drive, where they found Aber and pronounced her dead at the scene, per the department. Police said an investigation is currently underway to look into the circumstances surrounding Aber’s death. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia “will determine the manner of death,” per authorities.
It is not immediately clear if the home in which authorities found Aber belonged to her, or who initially contacted police to make the report.
The APD did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment and more information on Sunday, March 23.
Aber was nominated for U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) by Joe Biden in August 2021. She was unanimously confirmed by the Senate in October of that same year, per her official bio from the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The politician later resigned from her position with the EDVA earlier this year on Jan. 20, the same day Trump, 78, took over the presidency of the United States.
Aber received her law degree from William & Mary Law School in 2006. She began her career at the DOJ in 2009 as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, where she took on cases involving financial fraud, public corruption, violent crime and child exploitation.
Prior to her 2021 nomination for U.S. Attorney, Aber served as the Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division for EDVA, per the DOJ.
In a statement on X, Erik Siebert, the current U.S. Attorney for the EDVA, said the office is “heartbroken beyond words.”
“She was unmatched as a leader, mentor, and prosecutor, and she is simply irreplaceable as a human being,” he continued of Aber.
“We remain in awe of how much she accomplished in her all too brief time in this world. Her professionalism, grace, and legal acumen set the standard,” added Siebert. “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.”
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U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi also expressed her condolences in a statement posted on the DOJ website.
“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,” she wrote.
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