PA Deputy Attorney General Laura Ditka Dies Suddenly At 55

PITTSBURGH, PA - Pennsylvania Deputy Attorney General Laura Ditka, a former Allegheny County deputy district attorney attorney, died suddenly on Monday. Her passing was announced in a tweet and Facebook post by District Attorney Stephen Zappala’s office.

“It is with the heaviest of hearts that we honor the memory of former Deputy DA Laura Ditka who died unexpectedly,” the tweet stated. “Her legacy is all the child victims and their families who are better off today because of her. She was an extraordinary public servant and person and a loving mom.”

Ms. Ditka, 55, of Pine, was the chief of the criminal division in the western half of the state for the attorney general’s office, supervising a group of prosecutors and staff. She most notably successfully prosecuted former Penn State University president Graham Spanier on a misdemeanor child endangerment charge as part of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.

Ms. Ditka was a 1981 graduate of North Allegheny High School and in January was named a distinguished alumni of the school. She received a bachelor’s degree from Ohio University,a law degree from Duquesne University and spent 25 years in the district attorney’s office before joining the attorney general’s office in 2013.

Funeral arrangements for Ms. Ditka were not immediately available.

Photo via Allegheny County District Attorney's Office.

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