The former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia’s sudden death earlier this year was related to epilepsy, the State Medical Examiner’s Office concluded.

Jessica Aber, who was 43, oversaw prosecutions in the federal district for just over three years — between October 2021 and her resignation following President Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.

Aber was found dead in her bed in her Alexandria home on March 22 after police responded to a report that she was unresponsive that morning.

The Alexandria Police Department released a statement three days later saying “detectives found no evidence suggesting that her death was caused by anything other than natural causes.”

At the time, police said that investigation was still open and awaited a final ruling from the State Medical Examiner on the cause and manner of death.

Aber’s family said in a statement to media outlets that she died in her sleep and that “Jess suffered from epilepsy and epileptic seizures for many years.”

The State Medical Examiner’s Office told the Daily Press and The Virginian-Pilot in late March that the cause and manner of death were still pending, and that it could take months for a determination.

But early last week, the State Medical Examiner’s responded to a request from the newspapers for an update on the case.

“The manner of death is natural and the cause of death is sudden unexpected death in epilepsy,” Jennifer Starkey, the medicolegal administrator for the State Medical Examiner’s northern district office in Manassas, replied in an Aug. 20 email.

Starkey declined to provide the full autopsy report, citing an exemption for health records under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. She also cited other provisions of law barring the report’s public release.

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that can trigger unexpected seizures, caused by temporary abnormal electrical conditions in the brain.

U.S. Attorney Jessica Aber became the top federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia in October 2021. She died unexpectedly on March 22, 2025.

According to the Epilepsy Foundation, about one in 1,000 people with epilepsy die of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy, or SUDEP. In many cases, the foundation said, the person is found dead in bed, often with signs of a seizure close to death.

“Some researchers think that a seizure causes an irregular heart rhythm,” the foundation’s website added. “Other research has shown that breathing difficulties following a seizure lead to death.”

Aber became one of 94 U.S. attorneys nationwide when she landed the job more than three years ago.

Virginia’s U.S. senators,Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, recommended Aber for the post in March 2021, with President Biden nominating her and the Senate confirming her later that year.

She led more than 300 employees in U.S. Attorney’s offices in Alexandria, Richmond, Norfolk and Newport News, overseeing all federal prosecutions in Eastern Virginia.

During her time at the helm, the office prosecuted many high-profile cases, including against a rogue CIA analyst accused of leaking classified documents about Israel’s plans to strike Iran.

“Asif Rahman is pleading guilty in federal court three months to the day that he disclosed top secret American documents in violation of his oath, his responsibility, and the law,” Aber wrote in a news release at the time.

Aber was in charge when the office prosecuted a Northern Virginia company, Eleview International, and its executives for scheming to send sensitive information to Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.

She also took part in the Department of Justice’s decision to indict four Russian soldiers with war crimes for savagely beating an American living in Ukraine.

Also under Aber’s watch, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newport News prosecuted Deja Taylor, the mother of a 6-year-old Richneck Elementary School student who shot his first grade teacher in early 2023.

Aber was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area, but decided to “rebel” after high school by coming east, she told the Daily Press and The Virginian-Pilot in December 2021. She enrolled at the University of Richmond, near where her maternal grandparents lived.

After earning a bachelor’s degree at Richmond and a spending year of law school there, Aber transferred to the William & Mary School of Law, saying the small-town atmosphere allowed her to focus on her studies.

After her second year of law school, Aber landed an internship at the Newport News Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office in 2005. She prosecuted misdemeanor cases and wrote motions and appeals.

“I just absorbed all the experience in that office, from (Commonwealth’s Attorney) Howard Gwynn to his assistants,” she said. “It was a very busy place, and there was lots to watch.”

Aber later clerked for a federal magistrate judge, then worked for a Richmond law firm before going to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Richmond in 2009. She became deputy chief for criminal prosecutions in 2016.

Aber said in 2021 that “the clock is ticking every day” on the “lifetime opportunity” of her new role.

“The most important issue facing this district — and frankly all districts — is a lack of community trust in the Department of Justice and the criminal justice system,” she said. “If we’re not helping America have more faith in the criminal justice system, everything we’re doing is kind of a loss.”

Peter Dujardin, 757-897-2062, pdujardin@dailypress.com

https://www.pilotonline.com/2025/08/29/medical-examiner-jessica-aber-death-cause/