Jennifer Eckhart, a former Fox News associate producer who made headlines when she accused an on-air anchor of rape, has died at the age of 36.
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The producer turned podcaster was found dead in her Florida home on the morning of September 19, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said in an incident report obtained by People.
“This death has been ruled a suicide,” sheriff’s spokesperson Christine Christofek said in a statement.
According to USA Today, Eckhart was found dead by her mother. Her mother had gone to her home in Hobe Sound, and called the authorities after making the discovery.
A responding deputy said Eckhart was found with “a large laceration to the front of her throat/neck and there was a folding pocketknife next to her right hand.”
In 2020, Eckhart made waves when she accused then Fox News anchor Ed Henry of rape. She alleged Henry had sexually assaulted her during the seven years she worked at the network. According to TMZ, she feared he had the power to destroy her career.
Henry denied the allegation, claiming their relationship was consensual.
He was then fired by the network after they received a complaint about sexual misconduct and set up an outside investigation. Eckhart sued both Henry and Fox News.
She settled her claims against Henry in 2024. Fox News was dismissed as a defendant from the lawsuit after a federal court found the network didn’t know about the misconduct.
Following her departure from Fox, Eckhart started a podcast called REINVENTED with Jen Eckhart.
“I turned pain into purpose,” she previously told People. “I think the overarching theme, as far as this case not going to trial, is that survivors do not require validation from a courtroom to emerge stronger than what tries to break them.”