Former US attorney for Eastern District of Virginia found dead

US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Jessica Aber speaks during a press conference at the Department of Justice in December 2023

Jessica Aber, the former US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, was found dead at a residence on Saturday morning.

Police in Alexandria, Virginia, responded to reports of an unresponsive woman at about 09:18 local time (13:00 GMT) , the department said in a statement.

Officers then located a deceased woman, who they later identified as Ms Aber, police said.

Ms Aber, 43, was appointed by former President Joe Biden in 2021. She stepped down in January when Donald Trump took office.

Police said an investigation into her death was underway and Virginia's chief medical examiner will determine the cause.

A friend of the family told the BBC's US partner CBS News that Aber's death is "believed to be the result of a longstanding medical issue".

Ms Aber graduated from the University of Richmond in Virginia in 2003, before attending William & Mary Law School in Williamsburg, Virginia. She clerked for then-Magistrate Judge M. Hannah Lauck of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia from 2006 to 2007.

She started in the Eastern District of Virginia in 2009 as an assistant US attorney, and worked on cases involving financial fraud, public corruption, and child exploitation cases, according to the Department of Justice website.

In 2016, Ms Aber was promoted to the district's deputy chief of the criminal division.

Biden nominated her to lead the Eastern District of Virginia in August 2021, and she was unanimously confirmed by the US Senate.

As the district's top prosecutor, she oversaw about 300 prosecutors, litigators and support staff.

She stepped down from the position in early 2025 when Donald Trump took office.

US attorneys are appointed by the president. It is common for sitting US attorneys to step down when new presidential administration arrives, or for new presidents to later choose a new top prosecutor.

In statement, her successor, interim US Attorney Erik S Siebert said the office was "heartbroken beyond words".

"She was unmatched as a leader, mentor, and prosecutor, and she is simply irreplaceable as a human being," said Mr Siebert, who joined the division in 2010, the year after Ms Aber.

US Senator Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, called Ms Aber an "exceptional public servant who dedicated her life to serving her fellow Virginians".