Jennifer Eckhart dies by suicide at 36 after high-profile legal battle with Ed Henry

Highlights

• Former Fox Business associate producer Jennifer Eckhart has died by suicide at 36
• She filed a lawsuit against former Fox News anchor Ed Henry in 2020
• The legal battle ended in a settlement in 2025, after which Eckhart focused on supporting trauma survivors

Jennifer Eckhart, a former Fox Business associate producer who became widely known after accusing former Fox News anchor Ed Henry of sexual assault, has died by suicide at the age of 36.

Eckhart was found dead at her home in Martin County, Florida, on September 19, according to an incident report from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office obtained by PEOPLE. A sheriff’s office spokesperson confirmed that her death was ruled a suicide.

Jennifer Eckhart’s legal battle with Ed Henry

Eckhart worked at Fox Business for seven years before leaving the network in 2020. That year, she filed a lawsuit against Henry, alleging that he had sexually assaulted her while they were both working at Fox.

Eckhart also alleged that Henry had taken photographs of her that she believed could be used to damage her career. Henry denied the allegations and maintained that their relationship had been consensual.

Fox News fired Henry in July 2020 following an investigation into a complaint concerning what the network described at the time as “willful sexual misconduct in the workplace”. The network said it had not received previous sexual harassment complaints against him before Eckhart came forward.

Eckhart’s lawsuit also named Fox News, alleging that the network had failed to protect her. Fox News was later dismissed from the case, and the decision was upheld by a federal appeals court in 2025.

The lawsuit was settled in 2025

Eckhart and Henry reached a settlement in 2025, bringing the years-long legal dispute to an end without a trial.

Following the settlement, Eckhart described the case as an “exhaustive, retraumatizing, five-year legal battle” and said she felt that “a weight” had been lifted from her shoulders. Henry’s attorney said at the time that the matter had been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties.

Eckhart turned her experience into advocacy

After leaving Fox, Eckhart continued working in media and focused much of her work on supporting trauma survivors.

She founded The Reinvented Project, a nonprofit that supports trauma survivors through animal-assisted therapy, and launched the podcast REINVENTED with Jen Eckhart, which gave survivors a platform to discuss their experiences.

Following the settlement, Eckhart said she wanted to use her experience to help others who had gone through trauma.

Her final Instagram post was shared on June 1. She wrote about being happy to be back on social media and said she was working on projects she was excited to share.

Eckhart’s death comes more than a year after her legal battle with Henry was settled.