Former Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden Found Dead in San Diego Federal Building, Suicide Confirmed

Authorities located the body of former acting assistant U.S. attorney Andrew Haden on Aug. 19 in an office within the Edward J. Schwartz federal building in San Diego after he was reported missing. The San Diego County medical examiner’s office concluded that Haden, 48, died from hanging and listed the manner as suicide. Haden’s résumé included serving as first assistant attorney general for the Southern District of California, chief of the Violent Crimes & Human Trafficking Section, and head of the Criminal Division.

A San Diego native, he graduated from University City High, earned a political science degree at Stanford, served five years in the Navy with deployments to Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Joint Task Force Liberia, and later attended the University of San Diego School of Law, clerking for Judge Thomas J. Whelan. His career was marked by awards such as the Director’s Award for Superior Performance in 2020 and the Peter J. Mazza Outstanding Federal Lawyer Award in 2024. Community supporters have raised more than $240,000 to assist his wife and two children.