UVALDE, Texas – The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office has determined the cause and manner of death for Regina Santos-Aviles, the congressional staffer for U.S. Rep Tony Gonzales, who died after catching on fire at her Uvalde home in September.
Santos-Aviles’ cause of death is self-immolation, as confirmed to KSAT Investigates on Monday. Merriam-Webster defines self-immolation as a deliberate and willing sacrifice of oneself, often by fire.
The medical examiner’s office ruled that Santos-Aviles died by suicide. She died Sept. 14 at 35 years old.
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Santos-Aviles was alone in her backyard when she caught on fire, the Uvalde Police Department previously confirmed to KSAT Investigates. The agency, which is investigating her death with the Texas Rangers, does not believe anyone else was involved.
KSAT Investigates emailed Uvalde police on Monday to ask for an update on the case.
KSAT Investigates and several other news agencies have filed records requests for 911 calls, police reports and body camera footage from the incident.
In an Oct. 24 letter sent on behalf of the City of Uvalde to the attorney general’s office, attorney Austin Beck said law enforcement initially investigated the case to see if any charges should be filed.
The investigation, according to Beck’s letter, will soon be closed without any criminal charges being filed.
The city is still asking the attorney general’s office to withhold the records under a statute that prevents records from cases that did not result in a conviction or deferred adjudication from being released.
According to the city’s letter, Beck argues that the information involves a person who is not a public figure and would violate common-law privacy rights for Santos-Aviles’ family.
“The fact that the death in the case resulted from self-inflicted injuries, whether accidental or intentional, is already publicly known,” Beck wrote. “… The information concerns mental/emotional distress, as such information is comprised of highly intimate or embarrassing facts, and the details of which are of no legitimate interest to the public.”
Javier Guerra, an attorney representing Santos-Aviles’ husband, Adrian Aviles, told KSAT Investigates last month that Aviles is worried about the release of records related to his wife.
“Nobody needs to see body-cam footage of the officers speaking with her and nobody needs to hear or read what she may have said to them,” Guerra said in an email. “We feel the privacy of Regina and the family should be paramount and that the public has no right to any of this.”
Gonzales, who has been active on his X account, has avoided speaking with local media since his staffer’s death.
In October, KSAT and other media outlets were uninvited from a San Antonio event he was set to appear at days after Santos-Aviles’ death.
KSAT Investigates has reached out to Gonzales and his communications director, Alyssa Gulick, a combined total of 15 times since Sept. 17. Neither has responded.
Background
Paramedics, firefighters and police responded to Santos-Aviles’ home in Uvalde around 9:30 p.m. Sept. 13 for a disturbance, according to a UPD call sheet.
A close family member said Santos-Aviles, who was the Uvalde Regional District Director, was airlifted to San Antonio to be treated for extensive burns after being found on fire in front of her porch.
Santos-Aviles was pronounced dead just after 6:30 a.m. Sept. 14, the medical examiner’s office said.
In a previous phone interview with KSAT, family members were adamant that Santos-Aviles’ death was an accident, adding that there was a water hose outside of the home.
“Her last words were, ‘I don’t want to die,’” a family member told KSAT.
Sgt. Rene Cordova with the Texas Rangers told KSAT in September that they are assisting UPD with the investigation, adding that it’s a “procedure thing.”
Cordova denied that the Rangers were called in because Santos-Aviles was a staffer for the congressman.
Uvalde police officials said last month they are waiting for final reports from the Texas DPS Crime Laboratory and the medical examiner’s office, which could take weeks.
The Uvalde Police Department said it would not provide any more details about the investigation until those reports are finalized.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic violence, there is help. KSAT has a list of resources on its Domestic Violence webpage, which also explains how to identify different types of abuse. On the resource page is a section on legal help available.
If it’s an emergency, text or call 911. For wrap-around services including the Battered Women and Children’s Shelter, call Family Violence Prevention Services at 210-733-8810.
You can also contact the Bexar County Family Justice Center, which also provides wrap-around services at 210-631-0100.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.
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