A surprising police report obtained by The Put up revealed {that a} dying aide to Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) informed first responders her estranged husband was having an extramarital affair with “her finest good friend.”
Regina Santos-Aviles, 35, a regional director for Gonzales in Texas, made the declare after she set herself on hearth and emergency responders fought to save lots of her life.
The Uvalde, Texas, police data launched Monday make clear the tragic ending for Santos-Aviles, a mom who allegedly had an affair together with her married GOP boss the 12 months prior, whereas nonetheless obsessing about her estranged husband in her closing breaths.
Santos-Aviles lit herself on hearth on Sept. 13, 2025 and died of the ensuing accidents the next day.
The ugly police report described the frantic scene of first responders attempting to place out a fireplace within the yard, whereas a burned Santos-Aviles tried to inform officers what drove her to take such a drastic closing act that was later dominated a suicide.
First responders discovered Santos-Aviles with “extreme burn accidents” on the entrance porch of her dwelling claiming “she found her husband was dishonest on her together with her finest good friend, and consequently, she poured gasoline on herself and set herself on hearth,” one officer’s report acknowledged.
One other officer wrote within the report that Santos-Aviles “acknowledged her husband is homosexual and is having an affair together with her finest good friend.”
Each the husband, Adrian Aviles, and a former colleague of Santos-Aviles rejected the claims.
“These allegations are fully false,” Adrian informed The Put up, including that the “finest good friend,” who’s a feminine, “can also be my childhood good friend, and there was no sexual relation between the 2 of us.”
Some drugs had been recovered from the scene, and Aviles later informed officers that his late spouse “had been taking antidepressants and consuming alcohol repeatedly, typically mixing the 2.”
The bereaved husband informed The Put up beforehand that “Regina was not pregnant” and “was a totally steady … mentally-sane particular person earlier than all of this.”
However different particulars within the police data reveal a really completely different psychological well being historical past — together with a good friend’s reference to officers that Santos-Aviles had “presumably been to a psychological well being hospital in her teenage years.”
Her husband, Aviles, was “watching UFC fights at Resort Valencia, accompanied by a feminine good friend whose id he declined to offer,” different police recordsdata famous.
“When requested about Regina’s historical past, Mr. Aviles suggested that Regina had beforehand made self hurt threats,” Uvalde detective Gregory Villa wrote. “He described a previous incident the place Regina contacted him whereas pointing a firearm at her personal head.”
“Mr. Aviles reported that their son might be heard screaming for his mom throughout that incident, and police had been dispatched to that location. Mr. Aviles was unable to offer an actual date for this prior incident,” Villa added.
On the evening that Santos-Aviles self-immolated, her husband had additionally gotten a textual content from a good friend “informing him that Regina had despatched a video of herself pouring gasoline on her physique,” the detective famous.
“Mr. Aviles supplied me with screenshots of textual content messages between Regina and his good friend, recognized as Alfred Garza Jr.,” Villa’s report continued. “In these messages, Regina expressed that she believed Mr. Aviles was with Alfred and acknowledged, ‘Inform baller I’m setting myself on hearth proper now, so have enjoyable elevating our son.’”
“This message was adopted by a five-second video displaying Regina pouring gasoline on herself,” it concluded.
Adrian and Regina shared an eight-year-old son however separated in August 2024 — simply months after the husband found sexual textual content messages between his spouse and Gonzales in Might 2024.
“She used to suppose Adrian was dishonest on a regular basis. Why? As a result of She was all the time scared he was going to go away her after what she did with Tony,” a former colleague of Santos-Aviles’ in Gonzales’ workplace mentioned.
“You must perceive that the affair she had with Gonzales led to sharp psychological decline. It led to ingesting, medicine use, and insecurities,” the ex-staffer added.
“I knew Regina earlier than and after this affair. Earlier than she was regular, calm, and joyful. After she was the other of all these issues. I labored together with her on daily basis for 2 years, on daily basis.”
The Texas Republican within the Might 2024 alternate requested for racy images and what his aide’s most popular sexual positions had been — prompting a handful of GOP colleagues on Monday to name for him to step down.
“These textual content messages are disgusting and inexcusable,” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) mentioned in an announcement. “A Member of Congress. Harassing his personal staffer in the course of the evening.”
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) additionally demanded Gonzales’ resignation. Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) mentioned the congressman ought to drop out of his re-election bid.
“The allegations are clearly very critical,” Home Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) informed reporters, whereas cautioning that each Home and state-level investigations must play out first.
The March 3 main pits Gonzales in opposition to YouTuber Brandon Herrera and different GOP candidates.
The three-term Home pol accused the widower Aviles and his legal professional of searching for to “blackmail” him with the disclosure of the textual content messages final week.
The legal professional Bobby Barrera and the husband had been moreover searching for an as much as $300,000 settlement below the Congressional Accountability Act for alleged intercourse harassment and office retaliation on behalf of Regina.
