ABC News veteran Jim Avila, who notably covered the O.J. Simpson trial, has died at the age of 69.
Fellow ABC News journalist Diane Macedo announced on Thursday that the former senior national correspondent died after a “long illness.”
But Avila’s death was ultimately the result of complications from a fall, according to NBC correspondent Josh Mankiewicz.
The longtime journalist had been in hospice care for six weeks before passing in his San Diego home, according to the Los Angeles Times and WBBM-TV.
Macedo added that he faced his health issues “with courage.”
Avila, who has won multiple Emmys, served as an anchor and investigative reporter for KNBC in Los Angeles from 1994 to 1996.
During that time, he was the principal reporter on the trial of O.J. Simpson, which helped earn the station a 1996 Emmy Award.
He’s also received the award for his coverage of the 1997 Red River Flood—and fire—that caused billions in damage in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
And in 2008, for his coverage of undocumented farmworkers affected by the Southern California wildfires.
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists awarded him as the reporter of the year in 1999.
Avila worked for almost 20 years as a Los Angeles-based correspondent, covering politics, justice, law, and consumer investigations, before covering the White House from 2012 to 2016.
He won the prestigious Merriam Award in 2015 for his reporting on the Cuban government’s release of U.S. contractor Alan Gross.
He was also a 20/20 correspondent for ABC News.
Avila’s brother donated a kidney to him in 2020, and he left the network the following year.
However, he returned just two years later to ABC San Diego as a senior investigative reporter, telling the Times of San Diego that “retirement was boring.”
“We send our heartfelt condolences to his family, including his three children, Jamie, Jenny, and Evan, and we thank him for his many contributions and unwavering commitment to seeking out the truth,” ABC News president Almin Karamehmedovic said in a statement.
Avila was born July 26, 1956, and raised in Lombard, Illinois — a suburb of Chicago.
He is survived by his mother, Eve Simon; his sister, Karie Simon; and his brothers, Tom Simon and Jaie Avila, both of whom work as journalists.
“Of all of his accomplishments, Jim would often tell anyone who would listen, he was most proud of his three beloved children, Jamie, Jenny, and Evan,” Tom Simon wrote on Facebook.
