This story was updated on Oct. 30 at 2:20 p.m.
An investigation into the death of a former staff member to Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales is expected to conclude soon without anyone being charged with a crime, according to attorneys for the City of Uvalde.
According to a letter from the city responding to a public records request, the investigation into the death of 35-year-old Regina Santos-Aviles "appears likely to be closed in the near future without resulting in criminal prosecution against any person." Santos-Aviles burned to death in an act of alleged self-immolation in her backyard in Uvalde last month.
The city still wants to withhold information related to the incident, the letter added, under an exemption to public records laws for investigations that do not end in criminal charges.
The city also invoked privacy protections for the victim's family.
"The fact that the death in this case resulted from self-inflicted injuries, whether accidental or intentional, is already publicly known," the letter from the city's attorney said. "While the City acknowledges that common-law privacy cannot be asserted on behalf of a deceased person ... it maybe asserted on behalf of the deceased person's surviving family members."
The letter signaled a shift from earlier official statements that requested the records be withheld due to an active criminal investigation.
Uvalde Police Chief Homer Delgado said in a statement in the days following the death that there was no indication of foul play, but that his department and The Texas Rangers were investigating.
Earlier requests for documents related to the case were met with the City of Uvalde seeking an opinion from the Texas Attorney General's office to withhold them based on "pending possible criminal prosecution" according to the Express-News.
Government agencies can ask the Texas Attorney General to give them permission to withhold certain documents requested by members of the public.
In his initial request, Uvalde City Attorney Frank Garza cited an exception in state law that allows for information to be withheld if "it is information relating to litigation of a civil or criminal nature to which the state or a political subdivision is or may be a party or to which an officer or employee of the state or a political subdivision, as a consequence of the person's office or employment, is or may be a party."
Opinions from the attorney general's office are usually issued within 45 days.
Santos-Aviles was a regional district director for Gonzales since November of 2021.
Before that, she was executive director of the Uvalde Chamber of Commerce and a board member of the Uvalde Area Development Foundation.
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