Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden was found dead late Wednesday inside a vacant office at the downtown San Diego federal building, ending the day with the sudden loss of one of the office’s most experienced prosecutors. He was 48.
Haden had worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for 16 years and twice served as acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California during leadership transitions, a rare level of responsibility that made him a familiar figure inside the office. His death was publicly confirmed Thursday, when the news began moving through San Diego’s federal legal community and raised the same immediate question: what happened behind the closed door of that office at 880 Front in Downtown San Diego?
The San Diego Police Department said a man who was potentially missing was discovered deceased by law enforcement in an office at 880 Front in Downtown San Diego and that foul play is not suspected. The county Medical Examiner’s Office said it is investigating Haden’s death, which means the official cause and manner have not yet been determined.
That gap matters because the case has already drawn two different readings. A person familiar with the situation suspected Haden took his own life, but police have not described the death that way and have instead left the final answer to the Medical Examiner. It is the kind of uncertainty that hangs over a death even after the body is found: everyone close to the case can see the loss, but not yet the reason.
San Diego U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said Haden had been reported missing earlier in the day and was later found deceased, and he said he would not provide further details out of respect for Haden’s wife and children. Gordon called Haden a beacon of light and said he left an incredible legacy for his leadership and commitment to the office and community. Southern District of California Chief Judge Cynthia Bashant said the tragedy was a loss for everyone, and defense attorney Jeremy Warren said the criminal defense bar greatly respected Haden.
For the office, the next official word will come from the Medical Examiner, and that finding will do more than settle a cause of death. It will determine whether Andrew Haden’s final chapter is recorded as an unexplained death, a self-inflicted one, or something else entirely, in a building where he spent much of his professional life.
