Questions are mounting over the death of a Texas prosecutor whose past relationship placed her at the center of one of the NBA’s most publicized cheating scandals.
Although police determined that Erin Benavides, 54, died by suicide on October 14, friends are urging authorities to conduct a deeper investigation and definitively exclude the possibility of foul play.
The mother of two divorced San Antonio Spurs player and broadcaster Brent Barry in 2010 after reports that she had developed an emotional relationship with his teammate Tony Parker. Parker’s marriage to actress Eva Longoria also ended soon afterward.
In the years that followed, Erin largely withdrew from public attention and built a new career. She became a prominent Texas prosecutor who took on human traffickers and cartel members accused of selling children for sex.
She married fellow attorney Paul Benevides, 38, in 2022. The couple lived in San Antonio, where Erin’s two sons from her marriage to Barry were raised.
They had also built a house in Port Aransas on the Texas Gulf Coast and were preparing to move there. Friends described the coastal town as the couple’s “happy place.”
Those close to Erin were stunned when her body was discovered at the new property, less than a mile from the ocean. Port Aransas police said she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The Nueces County Medical Examiner likewise classified the death as suicide. But Erin’s closest friends remain unconvinced, raising concerns that her work prosecuting dangerous criminals may have placed her at risk.
Erin Marie Benavides, 54, a former Texas district attorney who was married to NBA player and broadcaster Brent Barry, was found dead at her home in what police described as a suicide
Erin Benavides, pictured near the center, made headlines in 2010 after allegedly having an “emotional affair” with Tony Parker, Eva Longoria’s then-husband. Both couples later divorced
“I’m still in shock. She was so in love with her boys and completely devoted to them,” her friend Andrea Sparks told Daily Mail.
“I don’t believe she would leave them that way. She was strong. She accepted extremely difficult cases and fought for trafficking victims whom few others were willing to help.”
Sparks had known Erin for about a decade while serving as the governor’s liaison for human trafficking.
“I can’t imagine her doing this on her own,” Sparks said. “Some of her cases involved dangerous cartel members, drug traffickers and human traffickers.”
Lisa Knapp, a fellow Texas victim advocate and friend of Erin’s, also questioned the suicide ruling.
“I was shocked when I read that her death had been called a suicide,” Knapp said.
“She was one of the strongest women I knew. She was also dealing with extremely dangerous smugglers and traffickers while prosecuting them.
“She was fearless. She simply didn’t care who she had to confront. When I saw the word suicide, I couldn’t believe it. She was taking on some very bad people.
“Many people would never have accepted that job. It was frightening work.”
In recent years, Erin Benavides Barry wore her hair blonde. She is pictured on the left with San Antonio child advocate Yolanda Valenzuela
Erin’s former husband, Brent Barry, was a prominent player for the San Antonio Spurs
After her divorce became national news, Erin stepped away from San Antonio’s public spotlight and enrolled at St. Mary’s University School of Law.
“I think she wanted to become almost invisible and avoid bringing negative attention after all the good work she and Brent had done,” said Yolanda Valenzuela, a former friend who served with Erin for years on the Bexar County Child Welfare Board.
Before the allegations became public, Erin had been helping develop a crisis nursery in San Antonio. The proposed facility would have offered mothers without support a safe place to leave their infants during difficult periods, without fear of harming the children or losing them to Child Protective Services, Valenzuela said.
Erin, who had been adopted herself, spent years supporting foster children and girls who had been sexually trafficked. According to the Uvalde News-Leader, she received the U.S. Congressional Award for Angels in Adoption in 2007.
“She was intensely focused on making sure those children received what they needed and were no longer being harmed. She wanted to improve their lives,” Valenzuela said.
“That showed how passionate and compassionate she was toward children who had no voice. She became a voice for the voiceless.”
After earning her law degree in 2013, Erin briefly worked in the San Antonio district attorney’s office before becoming an assistant district attorney in Comal County, Central Texas.
There, she handled cases involving girls who had been sexually trafficked, sometimes by their own parents or other relatives.
But Erin was no longer working only as a passionate advocate, Knapp said. She had become a prosecutor with the authority to pursue those responsible.
Friends have raised questions about autopsy findings that indicated Erin had consumed a significant amount of alcohol
Erin and her husband, Paul Benavides, planned to move into their new home in Port Aransas, Texas, which people close to them called “their happy place” (source: LinkedIn)
Erin used the full power of the law to target criminal networks and cartels accused of selling children as young as three and four for sex.
Knapp, who seldom speaks publicly because of the sensitive nature of her work with trafficking survivors, said she and others wanted Erin remembered for her extraordinary service rather than her connection to an NBA scandal.
“When I saw all the coverage about Tony Parker and Eva Longoria after her death, I thought, ‘Are you kidding me?’ This woman saved lives. That is not who she was,” Knapp said.
“Nobody working in this field cares about that. Children are being abused repeatedly every day, yet people want to focus on text messages between two adults.”
Word of Erin’s death eventually reached survivors she had helped escape from pimps and traffickers.
Knapp said Erin continued supporting many of them even after their criminal cases ended, helping survivors find employment and access the resources needed to rebuild their lives.
One former victim, who now has a job and had saved enough to purchase a car for herself and her children, broke down when she learned Erin had died.
“When I told her what had happened, she had only met Erin twice, but she was absolutely crying,” Knapp recalled. “She said, ‘She gave me my life.’”
“Who else do these girls have? Erin was one of the most powerful advocates for them in the state.”
Erin continued that work in Uvalde County, an area known to law enforcement as a human-trafficking hotspot less than two hours from the Texas-Mexico border.
From January 2023 until August 2026, she prosecuted cartels and other criminal groups as part of the county’s border prosecution unit.
Although Erin left her latest position in Uvalde in August, a friend said she was happy and excited about what lay ahead (source: Pure Flats/Facebook)
Erin married attorney Paul Benavides in 2022. Friends said the couple were happy and raising her two sons in San Antonio despite their 16-year age difference (source: Pure Flats/Facebook)
Sparks said Erin remained upbeat and hopeful about the future even after leaving her Uvalde position in August.
“They had built this house in Port Aransas, and she wanted to find work closer to it,” Sparks said.
“They were deeply in love, and he really wanted to marry her,” she added. “He absolutely adored her.”
Erin’s sons maintained a good relationship with their father, although Brent Barry had moved away from Texas years earlier. The boys had always lived with Erin; one is 26, while the younger son is in college.
“They were planning to sell the San Antonio house,” Sparks told Daily Mail. “They loved spending weekends together on the coast. It was their happy place.”
Friends have also expressed confusion over details reportedly included in Erin’s autopsy.
Several of those who knew her said Erin rarely drank heavily.
However, the autopsy report reportedly recorded a blood-alcohol level more than five times the legal driving limit.
“To me, the details simply don’t add up,” a fourth friend, Lisa Michelle, told Daily Mail.
“It is difficult to believe Erin’s death was self-inflicted, and I would like to see a thorough investigation so I can understand what happened,” Michelle said.
A private ceremony attended only by immediate family members was held roughly two weeks after Erin’s death.
Michelle said she planned to organize a memorial service so the many people affected by Erin’s work could gather to honor her.
The Port Aransas Police Department did not respond to Daily Mail’s request for comment on the investigation.
Erin’s husband and sons also did not respond to requests for comment from Daily Mail.