The Nueces County Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled Erin Benavides’ death a suicide by self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Benavides, 54, was found dead at her Texas home, and the medical examiner exclusively confirmed the official cause and manner of death this week. Her full autopsy report remains incomplete but is expected within approximately a week.
The former prosecutor became a tabloid fixture in 2010 when she was accused of having an emotional affair with NBA star Tony Parker. At the time, Parker was married to Eva Longoria, the actress then starring in ABC’s hit series “Desperate Housewives.”
The alleged relationship between Benavides and Parker was never confirmed as physical, with reports at the time characterizing it as an emotional affair conducted through text messages. The scandal nonetheless contributed to the dissolution of Parker and Longoria’s marriage, which ended in divorce later that year.
Longoria, then 35, filed for divorce from Parker, then 28, in November 2010 after nearly four years of marriage. She cited irreconcilable differences in the Los Angeles court filing. The split drew intense media coverage, with Benavides repeatedly identified in press accounts as the other woman in the triangle.
Parker, a French point guard who won four NBA championships with the San Antonio Spurs, went on to marry French journalist Axelle Francine in 2014. That marriage produced two sons before the couple divorced in 2020.
Benavides had largely faded from public attention in the years following the scandal. Her professional background as a prosecutor in Texas marked a stark contrast to the entertainment-world figures caught up in the 2010 coverage.
The circumstances of her death have drawn renewed attention to the long-tail consequences of sudden notoriety. Benavides was 54 at the time of her death, according to the medical examiner’s office.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.