A former top aide to Sen. Lamar Alexander was found dead in an apparent suicide on Thursday following charges of distribution and possession of child pornography late last year, POLITICO reported.
"At approximately 12 p.m. yesterday, Carroll County Sheriff's Deputies responded to a private residence in the 6900 block of Kenmar Lane for a report of an unconscious male, believed to be deceased," the sheriff's office said on Friday. "Family members reported finding 35-year-old Jesse Ryan Loskarn unresponsive in his basement where he'd been residing with family since this past December.
"The preliminary investigation indicates that Loskarn may have taken his own life, and his body has been transported to the State Medical Examiner's Office for autopsy."
Loskarn was arrested by U.S. Postal investigators in December following a raid in his home. After his arrest, he was released to his parents home in Maryland where he was ordered to not use the Internet and wear an ankle bracelet as his case continued.
Sen. Alexander issued a statement on his former chief of staff's death.
"For everyone involved, this is a sad and tragic story from beginning to end," the senator said on Friday morning.
Court records show that prosecutors and Loskarn's lawyers agreed to extend the time to file an indictment to February, hinting at a possible plea agreement.
This story is developing.
