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

Jessica Aber, the top prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia, was found unresponsive Saturday morning. She was 43.
Jessica Aber speaks
Jessica Aber, then the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, at the Justice Department in 2023.Samuel Corum / Getty Images file

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

The investigation into the death of Aber, who was 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 she died because of a long-standing medical issue, a friend of the family has 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 she was named U.S. attorney, her department biography says.

Aber announced her resignation as U.S. attorney on Jan. 20, the 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.