Overview
- ABC News announced his death in a staff memo from President Almin Karamehmedovic, who lauded Avila as a gifted journalist and generous colleague.
- The network did not disclose further medical details, while several outlets reported hospice care and fall-related complications that ABC has not confirmed.
- Avila served as a senior correspondent and 20/20 correspondent, covered the White House from 2012 to 2016, and won the Merriman Smith Award for breaking the U.S.–Cuba diplomatic reopening.
- His reporting career included major trials and immigration coverage, with earlier roles at NBC News and local stations in Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco, earning multiple Emmys and Edward R. Murrow Awards.
- He left ABC in 2021 after a 2020 kidney transplant donated by his brother and most recently worked as a senior investigative reporter at KGTV in San Diego; he is survived by his children Jamie, Jenny, and Evan.