Border Patrol agent charged in deaths of woman, 1-year-old
A supervisor for the U.S. Border Patrol killed a woman with whom he was romantically involved and her 1-year-old child before calling 911 claiming to have discovered the bodies near a park along the border with Mexico, Texas authorities said Tuesday.
Ronald Anthony Burgos Aviles, 28, was being held without bond in the Webb County jail on two counts of capital murder.
Laredo police spokesman Joe Baeza said that Burgos Aviles was identified as a person of interest within an hour of the 911 call Monday, but Baeza declined to elaborate.
He said Grizelda Hernandez, 27, and her son, Dominick Alexander Hernandez, likely were killed Monday near the park, which is adjacent to the Rio Grande and just south of the World Trade Bridge that carries traffic between the U.S. and Mexico.
Burgos Aviles and the woman were in a romantic relationship, Baeza said. The investigation will determine if Dominick was Burgos Aviles’ child.
“This isn’t over,” Baeza said. “This investigation is just barely getting started.”
Authorities declined to provide the manner of death for the two. Online jail records do not indicate an attorney for Burgos Aviles to answer the allegations.
Burgos Aviles was a nineyear veteran of the Border Patrol, Baeza said, and had been promoted last year.
Jason Owens, Border Patrol chief for the agency’s Laredo sector, told a news conference Tuesday called the deaths a “horrific tragedy.”
“The actions of this individual, if true, are both inexcusable and reprehensible,” Owens said. “No one is more sickened than we are at the thought of someone wearing this uniform committing such a heinous act.”
Baeza said investigators are working to learn more about Burgos Aviles’ relationship with Hernandez and many other aspects of the case.
Webb County District Attorney Isidro Alaniz said it’s too early to determine if prosecutors will seek the death penalty, adding that the case “is being given extreme priority.”
President Donald Trump has nominated Austin attorney David Morales to be a U.S. district court judge in Corpus Christi.
Morales is a partner at law firm Kelly Hart & Hallman and focuses on litigation, administrative law and public law. Before joining the practice, Morales was deputy general counsel to the University of Texas System Board of Regents, general counsel to then-Gov. Rick Perry and served close to 20 years in various roles with the Texas attorney general’s office.
“David has spent his career mastering complex legal issues in both public service and private practice, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure his swift confirmation,” U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said in a statement Tuesday.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, also praised the nomination.
“David Morales will make an outstanding federal judge,” Cruz said in a statement. “Having worked side-by-side with David in the Texas attorney general’s office defending the constitutional rights of Texans, I know firsthand that he will be a principled, passionate defender of the Constitution and the rule of law, which is why I was proud to join Senator Cornyn in recommending that the president nominate David to this position. He should be swiftly confirmed.”
Morales holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from St. Edward’s University and a law degree from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio.