Police respond to family’s explosive ‘new evidence’ claims in Texas A&M student’s balcony fall death
Police in Texas are defending their handling of the investigation into how a Texas A&M student died- after her family’s high profile lawyer slammed the cops as ‘lazy’ and ‘incompetent’ and called for state troopers to take over.
Brianna Aguilera, a 19-year-old sophomore, fell 17 stories from a high-rise apartment in Austin after attending a football tailgate party against arch rival University of Texas on November 28, according to police.
Her body was reported falling from the stories above when residents heard a loud thud and saw a woman’s body on the ground a few hours later art around 1 AM, Saturday November 29.
After local cops presented evidence Thursday that the aspiring lawyer jumped off the balcony of the high rise where she was visiting with friends, including a suicide note, her family’s lawyer said Friday the investigation should be transferred to state police.
At a press conference Friday, the family’s high profile attorney, Tony Buzbee, said the autopsy and toxicology report are not yet complete and blasted Austin police for ruling her death a suicide.
‘The Austin Police stands by the information that we provided (Thursday) during our news conference regarding the tragic death of Brianna Aguilera,’ the police department told Daily Mail in a statement.
‘A further review of Brianna’s phone shows a deleted digital suicide note dated Tuesday, November 25 of this year, which was written to specific people in her life,’ Austin Police Detective Robert Marshall stated at a press conference Thursday morning.
‘Our investigation has revealed that, unfortunately, Brianna had made suicidal comments previously to friends back in October of this year.
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Brianna Aguilera, 19, died after falling from a balcony of a high rise in Austin, Texas on Nov. 29. At this time, police have no indication that anyone pushed her, and believe her death was a suicide
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Rodriguez told KSAT-TV she was informed by police that Aguilera plummeted to her death from the 17th floor of an apartment building just west of the University of Texas at Austin
‘This continued through the evening of her death, with some self-harming actions earlier in the evening and a text message to another friend indicating the thought of suicide.’
Buzbee tried to debunk the suicide note that the Austin Police Department claims to have found on her phone.
‘Then (Marshall) gets into her phone and he sees an essay that she wrote and he calls it a suicide note. She took creative writing the semester before. The suggestion is that she left “a suicide note” – total malarkey,’ Buzbee said Friday.
The Houston attorney also pointed to a TikTok made by a resident of the high rise apartment who claims to have heard two women arguing just before Aguilera’s death.
‘A young man posted on TikTok that he could hear up above, at around the 17th floor in that general area, fighting/screaming – somebody saying, “Get off of me,” and then a muffled sound,’ Buzbee said.
While the department did not respond to specific allegations Buzbee made, investigators seemed unshaken by his allegations.
‘We would like to reiterate a couple keys points. The Travis County Medical Examiner determines the cause and manner of death, and APD has never made a determination in this case. Our role is to conduct an investigation and follow the evidence. This investigation remains open, and at no point has APD stated otherwise,’ the department explained.
Buzbee falsely claimed on Friday that police had closed the investigation.
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Brianna Aguilera was an aspiring lawyer who was studying as an undergrad student
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In a combative press conference Friday afternoon, Aguilera’s family and lawyer demanded police wait until her autopsy is completed before determining her death was a suicide
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Brianna Aguilera, 19, was found dead at 2101 Rio Grande Street around 1am Saturday, hours after tailgating
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Austin Police revealed Thursday that Brianna had a deleted suicide note on her phone from earlier in the week, along with suicidal texts she sent to friends the night she jumped
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Since her death, Aguilera’s mother has denied any suggestion her fall was suicide and has criticized the police timeline
He also called on Detective Marshall to be removed as the lead investigator and said he would be asking the governor to bring in the Texas Department of Public Safety to take over the case.
Neither the governor’s office or Buzbee responded to Daily Mail’s request for comment if that request had officially been made and whether the governor would follow through.
The president of police union in Austin told Daily Mail there is no legal precedent for a case to be taken away from a police department just because the family is not happy with the investigation.
‘It’s nothing I have ever seen happen. It’s our jurisdiction and it’s our case,’ said Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock told Daily Mail Monday.
‘Could the governor order it- probably not, but the department could invite Texas DPS in. Other than that, it’s all APD.’
Meanwhile, Aguilera’s remains have been returned to her hometown where mourners are gathering in Laredo to remember her.
A vigil was held Sunday, followed by a public viewing Monday evening starting at 5 PM.
A mass honoring her life will be celebrated at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Laredo on December 9 at 8:30 AM.
