Erin Marie Benavides, a Texas prosecutor and children’s advocate who was once at the center of a celebrity cheating scandal, has died by suicide.
Benavides, 54, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in her Port Aransas home on Oct. 14, according to police. The discovery came after her husband’s friend called authorities about an alarming text message she had sent.
She was previously married to former San Antonio Spurs guard Brent Barry, 58, from 1998 to 2010. Their divorce made national headlines when Barry alleged that Benavides had engaged in what he termed an “emotional affair” with Tony Parker, the six-time NBA All-Star and Barry’s teammate on the Spurs from 2004 to 2008.
The scandal widened when Eva Longoria, the actress who was married to Parker at the time, told Extra in an interview that she had discovered hundreds of text messages from Benavides on her husband’s phone. Longoria also said Parker had cheated on her earlier in their marriage. Parker and Longoria divorced in 2011.
Benavides had built a career in law and child advocacy in the years since. She served as president and CEO of the Youth Center of Texas from 2020 to 2022, an organization that provides crisis intervention and case management for child sex-trafficking victims. She also worked with the Bexar County Child Welfare Board, helping organize mass-adoption ceremonies and a Christmas fundraiser that provided gifts to local foster children.
Yolanda Valenzuela, executive director of Kym’s Angels Foundation, remembered Benavides for this welfare work.
From January 2023 through August 2026, Benavides worked as an assistant district attorney in Texas’ 38th Judicial District, which includes Uvalde and Real counties, with its anti-gang and border prosecution unit. She resigned from that position in August.
Port Aransas police said Benavides appeared to be living alone and unemployed at the time of her death. Officers discovered journals in the home indicating she had been actively searching for a new job.
Her husband, Pablo “Paul” Benavides, lives in San Antonio and owns the home where she was found, according to reports.
Christina Mitchell, the 38th District District Attorney, posted a tribute to Benavides on Facebook.
“Her boisterous laugh throughout the office will be greatly missed,” Mitchell wrote. “Erin loved her boys and always shared, with such pride, their accomplishments.”
Mitchell continued, “Erin will be remembered for the time and attention she gave to her work as a Texas prosecutor, her dedication to the [Border Prosecutions Unit] and the 38th District Attorney’s office and for her commitment to making Uvalde and Real counties safer communities.”
Mitchell added that Benavides brought “joy, laughter, and mirth to the office.”
Benavides’ death marks a tragic end for a figure whose personal life once intersected with one of the most publicized celebrity breakups of the early 2010s, and who had since devoted her professional life to prosecuting crime and advocating for vulnerable children.
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.