Border Patrol agent arrested in 2 killings
Woman with whom he had a relationship, her child found dead near river in Laredo
LAREDO — A supervisory Border Patrol agent is facing capital murder charges, accused of killing a woman with whom he was romantically involved and her 1-year-old son, Laredo police said Tuesday.
The agent, Ronald Anthony Burgos Aviles, 28, called 911 at about 11:30 a.m. Monday to report he had found a woman’s body near the riverbanks in northwest Laredo. Officers who responded to the scene near Father Charles McNaboe Park said they found the body of a child near the woman as well. Their bodies had not been there for a long time, police said.
Within an hour after he called 911, Burgos Aviles became the primary person of interest when police learned that he and the slain woman, 27-year-old Grizelda Hernandez, had been in a romantic relationship.
Police have declined to say how Hernandez and her son, Dominick Alexander Hernandez, may have died, but they said there were clear signs of foul play.
“The victims had visible signs of violence, which is now part of the official investigation. Due to the sensitivity of the case and the magnitude of the ongoing investigation, we’re not going to state the exact nature of the matter of death at this time,” said Laredo Police Department Chief Claudio Treviño Jr. at a news conference Tuesday morning.
LPD spokesman Joe Baeza said the investigation will determine if the dead boy was Burgos Aviles’ child. Police also would not say whether Burgos Aviles spoke to investigators when they questioned him at LPD headquarters. As of late Tuesday, he remained behind bars on two counts of capital murder.
Online jail records do not indicate an attorney for Burgos Aviles.
Police said he is a nine-year veteran who was assigned at the U.S. Border Patrol Laredo North Station.
“It’s very important that the public knows that this represents an anomaly,” said Jason D. Owens, acting chief patrol agent for Laredo Sector Border Patrol. “If true, this is not indicative of the men and women that go out and do this job day in and day out.”
Webb County District Attorney Isidro “Chilo” Alaniz said his office has not yet determined if prosecutors may seek the death penalty.
“We will be waiting to collect all the evidence and make the decisions as to what the direction the case is going to go,” Alaniz said. “At this time, I’m not going to say we’re seeking the death penalty.”
If prosecutors do not seek the death penalty, Burgos Aviles faces life in prison without parole if convicted of capital murder.
Alaniz added that the case will be given “extreme priority and importance.” He said he will personally oversee the case.
“It’s a very sad case for law enforcement today,” Alaniz said. “We keep in mind that we’re celebrating National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. … It’s ironic that this happens during this week.”
The last capital murder case in Webb County occurred in 2012, when Demond Bluntson killed his ex-girlfriend’s two children in a hotel room. In 2016, jurors sentenced him to death. That marked the first time in 25 years that a jury here had sentenced someone to death row.