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Former Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul Ebert, who was the youngest person ever elected to the office in Virginia and held it the longest, has died at 88.

Well-known for his soft-spoken country charm, Ebert served over 50 years as Prince William County鈥檚 top prosecutor. During his tenure, he oversaw several high-profile criminal cases and held the distinction of being the prosecutor who had sent the most people to death row in the nation.

The Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office announced Ebert’s death Tuesday on social media.

“Mr. Ebert always stressed the importance of fairness, while never forgetting the need to protect public safety,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Amy Ashworth said in a statement. No other details have been announced.

Ebert stepped away from the courtroom in 2019, deciding against a reelection campaign under doctor’s orders.

“It’s been a good ride for me, and I’ll be here for the rest of my term,” he told InsideNoVa at the time.

First elected in 1968, Ebert — a lifelong Democrat — prosecuted some of the state鈥檚 most infamous trials, including “Beltway Sniper” John Allen Muhammad, who was executed in 2009. It was one of only two executions Ebert ever witnessed, though he helped convict 15 killers of capital murder.

Ebert also prosecuted in 1993 Lorena Bobbitt after she cut off her husband鈥檚 penis following documented domestic abuse. Bobbitt was acquitted on charges of malicious wounding due to temporary insanity.

Ebert began his law career with a law firm in Falls Church, which eventually opened a Manassas branch that then became Ebert & Murphy. He also worked part-time work as an assistant commonwealth鈥檚 attorney.

In 1967 Ebert ran against Floyd Bagley for the office of commonwealth鈥檚 attorney for Prince William County and won, becoming the youngest commonwealth鈥檚 attorney in Virginia at only 30 years old.

Ebert was born on Sept. 23, 1937 in Roanoke, but his family moved to Northern Virginia when he was a toddler.

He held a law degree from George Washington University Law School, which he attended at night while clerking at a law firm to support his wife Priscilla and three children.

Priscilla Ebert died of a heart attack in 1983. Ebert, who had homes in Manassas and on the Northern Neck, never remarried.