Former Fox News Staffer Jennifer Eckhart Dies by Suicide at 36, Authorities Confirm

(People) – Former Fox News staffer Jennifer Eckhart has died at age 36.

Eckhart was found dead inside her Florida home on Saturday morning, Sept. 19, according to a Martin County Sheriff’s Office incident report obtained by PEOPLE.

Christine Christofek, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, added in a statement, “This death has been ruled a suicide.” TMZ was first to report.

Eckhart worked as an associate producer on Fox Business and worked at the network for seven years. In 2020, she accused the network’s then-anchor Ed Henry of rape, which he denied.

Henry was fired by the network over sexual misconduct claims, which, three weeks later, were revealed to be related to Eckhart when she filed her lawsuit and claimed she was “violently raped” and left “injured, bruised and battered with bloody wrists” by him.

She also alleged that Henry asked her to be his “sex slave,” “threatened punishment and retaliation if [Eckhart] didn’t comply with his sexual demands,” and “took photos” of her “for purposes of blackmail that could destroy her career.”

Fox News said in a statement to PEOPLE at the time that it “took swift action as soon as it learned of Ms. Eckhart’s claims on June 25 and Mr. Henry is no longer employed by the network.” The network also stated that there were no “sexual harassment claims against Ed Henry at Fox News prior to Jennifer Eckhart’s claim.”

Fox News was dismissed as a defendant from the lawsuit. Eckhart settled her lawsuit against Henry in 2025. “This has been an exhaustive, re-traumatizing, five-year legal battle with incredible challenges that at times I almost felt was unable to bear,” she said in a statement at the time. “With this settlement in place, a weight has now been lifted from my shoulders and my passion to support fellow trauma survivors has been renewed.”