In a grim twist that shocks the conscience, what first appeared to be a brutal murder in Uvalde, Texas, has been revealed as a heartbreaking act of self-destruction.

Regina Santos-Aviles, a 35-year-old congressional staffer for U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, doused herself in gasoline and set herself ablaze in her own backyard on September 13, authorities now confirm.

According to a Uvalde Police Department statement dated September 23, surveillance video reviewed by the Department of Public Safety showed Santos-Aviles alone at her home on 215 Geraldine St. when the flames engulfed her.

First responders arrived around 9:40 p.m. to find the fire extinguished but Santos-Aviles severely burned.

"Police officers told the firefighters that she had 'doused herself in gasoline and was ignited into flames,'" a Uvalde Volunteer Fire Department report stated.

Firefighters also put out a burning gas can in the yard.

Santos-Aviles was rushed to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, where she succumbed to her injuries the next morning, September 14.

Her family, grappling with the tragedy, initially claimed it was an accident.

"Her last words were, 'I don’t want to die,'" a family member told KSAT.

Yet, the evidence points to a deliberate act, though the official cause of death awaits final reports from the Bexar County Medical Examiner and the Department of Public Safety, a process that could take weeks.

Santos-Aviles, a former director of the Uvalde Chamber of Commerce and a dedicated regional district director for Gonzales, was laid to rest on September 25 at Uvalde Methodist Church.

The Uvalde Leader-News, which initially reported her surname as Santos based on police records, now uses Santos-Aviles, per her obituary.

Requests for additional police reports and 911 call audio remain unanswered pending the investigation’s conclusion.