The death of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s sister-in-law several weeks ago remains a “criminal investigation,” according to the Texas sheriff’s office looking into it.
“This incident was not a typical accident,” the Blanco County Sheriff’s Office stated Thursday in a letter to the state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, about the death of 50-year-old Angela Chao, according to CNBC.
“Although the preliminary investigation indicated this was an unfortunate accident, the Sheriff’s Office is still investigating this accident as a criminal matter until they have sufficient evidence to rule out criminal activity,” the letter explained, according to the outlet.
Chao was pulled out of a vehicle that had apparently driven into a pond. She was found in the early morning hours of Feb. 11, and first responders tried to no avail to resuscitate the CEO of Foremost Group.
“EMS attempted emergency measures on Ms. Chao but she succumbed from being under the water,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement on Feb. 16.
According to CNBC, the letter did not detail any evidence that Chao had died as a result of foul play, only that criminal activity had not yet been ruled out by investigators.
This seemed to conflict with the Feb. 16 statement, which indicated that investigators considered Chao’s death accidental.
“Our preliminary investigation has determined this to be an unfortunate accident,” that statement said, according to the outlet. “The investigation is ongoing at this time.”
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The letter to Paxton asked his opinion on whether records regarding the death should be released to the public, but also suggested the answer to that question, apparently.
“Releasing the reports, videos and other information prior to the completion of the investigation would interfere with the investigation and possible prosecution of this matter,” it said, according to CNBC.
“[A]ll reports will be released to all requesters” after the completion of the investigation, the letter added.
The pond where Chao was found in the vehicle was on a private ranch in Johnson City, Texas, not far from the state capital of Austin, CNBC noted.
The ranch is owned by a “entity connected to [Chao’s] husband, venture capitalist Jim Breyer,” the outlet reported.
Foremost group, of which Chao had been CEO, was founded by her parents.
Chao was the sister of McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, a former secretary of labor under former President George W. Bush as well as former secretary of transportation under former President Donald Trump.
McConnell cited Chao’s untimely death as one of the factors that led him to decide to step down from his leadership role in the Senate after the November election.
“As some of you may know, this has been a particularly difficult time for my family,” McConnell said at the beginning of his remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday. “We tragically lost Elaine’s youngest sister, Angela a few weeks ago.
“When you lose a loved one, particularly at a young age, there is a certain introspection that accompanies the grieving process,” he said.
“Perhaps it is God’s way of reminding you of your own life’s journey to reprioritize the impact on the world that we will all inevitably leave behind.”
