regina santos aviles

Newly released documents shed new light on the final moments of Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, the 35-year-old congressional staffer who died last September after setting herself on fire at her home in Uvalde, Texas. Santos-Aviles had previously been caught up in a scandal involving an affair with her boss, Republican Representative Tony Gonzales.

According to the documents released by Uvalde officials and reviewed by the San Antonio Express-News, Santos-Aviles was conscious when emergency crews arrived at her backyard shortly after 9:30 p.m. on September 13, 2025. She spoke directly with officers on the scene, telling them she had intentionally set herself on fire and that it "hurts so bad," while crying out, "Oh my God, I don't want to die."

The police reports reveal that responders heard her pleas over a 911 call, in which she begged for help as flames consumed her body after dousing herself with gasoline. Surveillance footage recovered later by investigators captured the deliberate nature of her actions and her efforts afterward to extinguish the fire.

Newly disclosed details show that, before setting herself on fire, Santos-Aviles sent a text message and a short video to a friend. The message described her intent and referenced her estranged husband, telling the friend, "Tell Baller I'm setting myself on fire right now, so have fun raising our son."

The video reportedly showed her pouring gasoline on her body moments before igniting the flames. A friend later provided these materials to the police as part of the investigation. Santos-Aviles and her husband, Adrian Aviles, shared an 8-year-old son, and authorities have said the couple had been separated for several months before her death.

After setting herself aflame, the records indicate Santos-Aviles tried to extinguish the fire by rolling on the ground and using a garden hose. She then walked through her house, leaving a trail of blood and burnt skin, before collapsing and being found on the front porch by first responders.

When first responders arrived, the police report states Santos-Aviles told them she had set herself on fire upon learning her estranged husband was romantically involved with her best friend. She was rushed by helicopter to the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, where she died the following morning. The Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office later ruled her death a suicide.

Santos-Aviles had been the director of Rep. Gonzales' regional office in Uvalde. According to text messages obtained and published this week by The Texas Tribune, Gonzales engaged in explicit late-night exchanges with Santos-Aviles in May 2024. In the messages, Gonzales asked the aide for a "sexy pic" shortly after midnight on May 9, 2024. When Santos-Aviles pushed back, saying "this is too far," Gonzales persisted by saying he was "just such a visual person."

Other exchanges show the congressman repeatedly broaching sex-related subjects despite her expressed discomfort. In one instance, when Santos-Aviles declined to send explicit images, Gonzales inquired about her "favorite position," to which she replied that the conversation had gone too far. These communications, sent weeks before Gonzales' close primary runoff in May 2024, would conflict with U.S. House ethics rules that bar sexual relationships between members of Congress and their staffers.

The messages also reveal that Santos-Aviles had confessed to an affair to at least one former staffer in April 2025. That colleague, speaking to the San Antonio Express-News, said Santos-Aviles acknowledged a romantic relationship with Gonzales and became distressed after her husband found evidence of it.

The alleged relationship reportedly became known among some staff in Gonzales' Uvalde office at the time, with Aviles eventually sending a group chat message to staff identifying himself as "soon to be ex-husband" after learning about it. Gonzales has denied these allegations in public statements and accused Adrian of blackmail. In comments shared with ABC News, he characterized reports of an affair as "rumors" and has accused his primary opponent of using them for political advantage.

Originally published on Latin Times