Ashley Turton, a former aide to Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., was found dead early this morning, a Democratic aide confirmed. She is the wife of Dan Turton, the White House's legislative liaison to the U.S. House.
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The Washington Post reported on its crime blog this morning that a vehicle crashed into the garage of a home on the 800 block of A Street SE. The car was on fire when firefighters responded to the scene and they found the body inside the vehicle. No further details of the cause of the crash were immediately available, but it has been confirmed that Ashley Turton was killed in the incident.
Turton was a senior DeLauro aide and worked on Steering and Policy Committee issues. She left the Connecticut Democrat's office in 2007 to join Progress Energy's D.C. operation.
Her husband is also a former Hill aide. He was most recently staff director for Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter of New York, before joining the White House in 2009. He also previously worked for Democratic Majority Leader Dick Gephardt of Missouri. They have three young children.
Bill Johnson, the president of Progress Energy, released a statement early this afternoon on her death. "Ashley was a valued employee whose insight and hard work had been critical on so many of our legislative and regulatory issues," he said, "She was also a dear friend to many of us and this news is very hard to take."
Progress Energy is scheduled to be bought today by Duke Energy Corp, creating the U.S.'s largest utility. "Today is an eventful day for us as employees of Progress Energy. Ashley's tragic death reminds us all to keep perspective in all things," he said.
