Evidence in death of former U.S. attorney points to natural causes, police say

Virginia police looking into the death of former U.S. Attorney Jessica Aber say everything they have found suggests natural causes.

The investigation into the death of Aber, who served as the top prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia for over three years, will remain open until the medical examiner’s office issues a final ruling, Alexandria police said Tuesday.

“While the investigation into the death of Ms. Jessica Aber is ongoing, at this time, detectives have found no evidence suggesting that her death was caused by anything other than natural causes,” police said in a statement.

Aber, 43, was found by police officers who were called on a report of an unresponsive person at around 9:20 a.m. Saturday, police said.

Police believe the death was the result of a longstanding medical issue, a friend of the family previously told NBC News.

Aber was appointed as U.S. attorney for the district by President Joe Biden on Aug. 10, 2021, and was then confirmed by the Senate.

She 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.

Aber announced her resignation as U.S. attorney on Jan. 20, the same day that President Donald Trump was inaugurated for a second term.

U.S. attorneys are political appointees chosen by the president, and can be removed at the will of the president.

Aber “was unmatched as a leader, mentor, and prosecutor, and she is simply irreplaceable as a human being,” the U.S. attorney for the district, Erik S. Siebert, said in a statement.