A former Fox News staffer was found dead over the weekend in an apparent suicide. Jennifer Eckhart worked as a producer with the news network for seven years. She was fired in 2020, weeks before filing a shocking lawsuit against the network and one of its anchors. She was only 36 when she was found dead from self-inflicted wounds. Keep reading for more on what we know about her heartbreaking death.
Fox News Staffer Jennifer Eckhart, 36, Found Dead In Apparent Suicide
The police were called to Jennifer Eckhart’s Florida home on Saturday, September 19. Her mother reportedly found the former Fox News staffer in the bathroom. She reportedly had a small knife nearby.
A Martin County Fire Rescue paramedic pronounced Jennifer Eckhart dead at 11:57 AM. “This death has been ruled a suicide,” a spokesperson for the Martin County Sheriff’s Department confirmed, according to PEOPLE magazine.
Jennifer Eckhart worked as an associate producer behind the scenes on Fox Business. However, she was forced into the limelight in 2020 after filing a shocking lawsuit against Fox News and a former news anchor.
She Previously Sued The Network Amid Rape Allegations
Jennifer Eckhart worked at Fox Business for seven years before she was unexpectedly fired in 2020. Two weeks after her firing, she filed a bombshell lawsuit against the network and anchor Ed Henry. The producer claimed that Ed Henry raped her in a hotel room in 2017 after years of sexual harassment and grooming. He claimed the encounter was consensual, but Fox News fired him. He currently works at Newsmax.
Fox News was dismissed from the lawsuit in 2025. The judge ruled that the network couldn’t be held liable since Jennifer Eckhart didn’t report the alleged rape until three years after it happened. However, Ed Henry remained embroiled in the lawsuit.
In an unexpected move, the lawsuit was settled three months later in June 2025. The details of the settlement were sealed. However, Jennifer Eckhart expressed relief that it was finally over.
“This has been an exhaustive, retraumatizing, five-year legal battle with incredible challenges that at times I almost felt was unable to bear. 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,” she told PEOPLE magazine at the time.
Jennifer Eckhart decided to turn her “pain into purpose” by launching The Reinvented Project. The non-profit helps trauma survivors with animal-assisted therapy. Furthermore, she hosted the Reinvented with Jen Eckhart podcast to “give voice to the voiceless.”
Jennifer Eckhart seemed to be dealing with her trauma. The news of her death is shocking and tragic. Our condolences to her family and loved ones.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.
Jennifer Havener grew up in a small town in Upstate New York. She earned her B.A in Writing & Literature from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She always knew watching reality TV shows and soap operas, particularly ‘Days of Our Lives’, would come in handy someday. When she’s not writing, she’s playing with her dogs, Lola and Ruger