A Texas Republican lawmaker was having an affair with an aide who took her own life last month.
Rep. Tony Gonzales,45, and the aide, Regina Santos-Aviles, became romantically involved after she joined his staff on November 21, 2021, as the lawmaker’s regional district director in Uvalde, Texas, the Daily Mail reported, citing “multiple sources.”
One source told the outlet that their relationship continued ‘for some time.’
Santos-Aviles, 35, died last month after she was found severely burned in the backyard of her home in Uvalde. Uvalde police told firefighters she had “doused herself in gasoline and was ignited into flames.”
Autopsy results remain pending, though authorities believe Santos-Aviles’ death was a self-immolation.
“Preliminary findings from DPS personnel confirming that Regina Santos-Aviles was alone in her backyard when the fire began,” Uvalde Police Chief Homer E. Delgado said. “At this stage of the investigation, we do not have any information to suggest that anyone else was involved.”
Santos-Aviles and her husband, Adrian Aviles, recently separated after he learned about the affair, but they continued to share custody of their 8-year-old son.
Rep. Gonzales is married and has six children with his wife. The Daily Mail reports that the congressman’s spokesman refused to deny the affair despite being given multiple opportunities to do so.
