Who is Brianna Aguilera? What to know about the Texas A&M student who died in Austin.
Brianna Aguilera was a student at Texas A&M’s Bush School of Government & Public Service with dreams of becoming a lawyer.
GoFundMe
The death of Texas A&M University student Brianna Aguilera has garnered widespread attention since she was found unresponsive last weekend near the University of Texas campus in Austin.
The Austin Police Department said Thursday that Aguilera, 19, died by suicide, but her family has denied that claim and alleged that her death involved foul play. Aguilera was pronounced dead at about 1 a.m. Saturday, after falling more than 17 stories at an apartment complex.
Here’s what to know about Aguilera.
Who was Brianna Aguilera?
Aguilera was a sophomore at Texas A&M, studying at the Bush School of Government and Public Service with hopes of becoming a lawyer one day, her family said on its GoFundMe page. She was also a member of the university’s pre-law society.
She was one year shy of earning her Aggie Ring, which students receive after completing 90 hours of classes.
What have Austin police said about Brianna Aguilera’s death?
Police have said the facts of Aguilera’s death don’t indicate foul play or criminal circumstances.
During a news conference on Thursday, police said that a deleted suicide note dated Tuesday, Nov. 25, was found on her phone and was addressed to people in her life. Investigators also said Aguilera had previously been open with her friends about her mental health.
Aguilera had arrived at an apartment near the UT campus around 11 p.m. with a large group of friends after leaving a tailgate, police said. A group of people was seen leaving an apartment Aguilera was staying at, but she stayed behind, and her body was later discovered by officers at 12:54 a.m.
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What has Brianna Aguilera’s family said about her death?
Aguilera’s mother, Stephanie Rodriguez, said she believes someone killed her daughter. Rodriguez has retained Houston attorney Tony Buzbee, who is set to host a press conference Friday alongside Aguilera’s parents to comment on the Austin Police Department’s handling of the case.
“Please don’t believe this lazy investigator and Investigation,” Rodriguez said on Facebook Thursday. “Tony Buzbee will get us the justice we need.”
Rodriguez specifically disputed claims that her daughter took her own life.
“My daughter loved life and was excited to graduate and pursue her career in Law,” she said.
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Buzbee, an alum of Texas A&M, said in a Facebook post that his law firm, with San Antonio-based Gamez Law Firm, would represent Aguilera’s parents to help them find out what happened to their daughter. He asked that anyone with information about Aguilera’s death contact his law firm.
“Brianna Aguilera had her whole life in front of her,” Buzbee said in a statement Thursday. “The circumstances surrounding her death are very suspicious. The Austin Police Department’s handling of this matter has created more questions than they have answers. As far as we are concerned, this is an open investigation and will continue to be open until these parents are satisfied they know what happened to their daughter.”
Texas A&M cheerleader Brianna Aguilera wrote and deleted a suicide note on her phone days before her death, police said, as they ruled that she took her own life when she plunged 17 stories from an Austin apartment building.
“Brianna had made suicidal comments previously to friends, back in October of this year,” Austin Police Detective Robert Marshall said at a news conference Thursday.
“This continued through the evening of her death, with some self-harming actions early in the evening and a text message to another friend indicating the thought of suicide,” he added.
Texas A&M cheerleader Brianna Aguilera’s death was ruled as suicide.Facebook / Stephanie Rodriguez
Brianna Aguilera with mother Stephanie Rodriguez.Facebok / Stephanie Rodriguez
Police were called to the apartment complex at 12:46 a.m. Saturday where they found Aguilera’s body.
Cameras showed her arriving at the apartment complex just after 11 p.m. Friday and going to a 17th-floor apartment for a party following a Texas A&M vs UT tailgate, Marshall told the news conference.
At the tailgate, Aguilera “became intoxicated to a point where she was asked to leave,” Marshall said.
The video showed “a large group of friends left that same apartment at 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 29, leaving just Brianna and three other girls in the apartment,” he said.
Aguilera plunged 17 stories from an apartment building.Stephanie Rodriguez
She told friends she had lost her phone, and borrowed someone else’s cell to call her boyfriend from 12:43 to 12:44 a.m., Marshall said.
Witnesses heard her argue with her boyfriend during the call just two minutes before the 911 call was made, Marshall said.
Aguilera’s mom, Stephanie Rodriguez, has dismissed cops’ version of events, insisting that her daughter wasn’t suicidal.
“Some self-harming actions early in the evening and a text message to another friend indicating the thought of suicide,” Austin Police Detective Robert Marshall said.GoFundMe
“Please don’t believe this lazy investigator and investigation!” she wrote in a Facebook post sharing a video of Thursday’s press conference.
She previously said that her daughter’s phone was on Do Not Disturb on the night of her death, and that her teen knew to leave her cell alerts on when she went out.
The phone was later discovered by a creek, where it had been left since 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Police have said they won’t investigate the death as a homicide.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis.News 4 San Antonio
“I understand how grief and the need for answers can raise intense emotions and many questions. But sometimes the truth doesn’t provide the answers we are hoping for, and that is this case,” Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said at the same news conference, adding that her “heart aches” for Aguilera’s parents.
“I have three daughters and a son, and I cannot begin to imagine the pain,” she said.
Rodriguez has hired major Texas attorney Tony Buzbee to investigate her daughter’s death.
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Buzbee, who represented more than 150 alleged victims of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, confirmed he had been hired by Aguilera’s parents in a Facebook post.
“They feel certain this was not an accident. This was certainly not a suicide. The family deserves straight answers. We hope we can help them get those answers,” he wrote.
What do you think? Post a comment.
Buzbee said his office will hold a press conference in Houston on Friday to discuss the case in depth.
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