The Tragedy That Changed Mitch McConnell’s Family Forever

Mitch McConnell and his wife, Elaine Chao, were rocked by the news that her sister, Angela Chao, died unexpectedly in a car crash. The 50-year-old was discovered dead on February 11 in a car submerged in the pond of a private ranch in Johnson City, Texas. “EMS attempted emergency measures on her, but she succumbed from being under the water,” the Blanco County Sheriff’s office said in a statement (via The Austin-American Statesman).

“As some of you may know, this has been a particularly difficult time for my family,” McConnell said in his Senate retirement announcement. “When you lose a loved one, particularly at a young age, there is a certain introspection that accompanies the grieving process. 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.”

It was initially believed that Angela had drowned as part of an automobile accident. However, authorities announced on February 29 that they were launching a criminal investigation into her death. “This incident was not a typical accident,” the Blanco County Sheriff’s Office asserted in a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (via CNBC). “The Sheriff’s Office is still investigating this accident as a criminal matter until they have sufficient evidence to rule out criminal activity.”