The Austin Police Department revealed on Tuesday that they are treating the passing of Texas A&M student Brianna Aguilera as a suicide.
As reported by the San Antonio Express News, Aguilera, who was 19 years old, tragically fell from the 17th floor of a student residence located near the University of Texas on Rio Grande Street in Austin.
An autopsy is still forthcoming.
Authorities stated, “There are no indications of suspicious circumstances.” Nonetheless, those close to Aguilera have highlighted inconsistencies, pointing to her recent actions such as preparing for the LSAT, planning to apply to law schools, and ordering her Aggie Ring.
Her mother, Stephanie Rodriguez, expressed doubts on Facebook, writing, “This was not accidental. Someone killed my Brie and gave all the group of friends a lot of time to come up with the same story.”
She further added, “My daughter would not jump 17 stories from a building, and labeling this as a suicide is insane.”
Police Chief Lisa Davis said Thursday that although it’s rare for police to hold a news conference concerning a suicide, they wanted to address allegations that the police department did not do an accurate investigation.
“Sometimes the truth doesn’t provide the answers we are hoping for, and that is this case,” she said.
“We used every available resource, interviewed numerous people, gathered evidence, because we too want to understand what happened to Brianna, who was clearly loved by so many.”
APD’s lead detective, Robert Marshall, provided a timeline of events that led up to Aguilera’s death.
- Between 4 and 5 p.m. Friday, Aguilera arrived at an Austin Rugby Club tailgate event. By 10 p.m., she was asked to leave, due to intoxication.
- She then stumbled into a wooded area, where she dropped and lost her phone.
- At around 12:14 a.m. Saturday morning, friends at the apartment contacted police and reported Aguilera missing.
- Between 12:43 a.m to 12:44 a.m, she borrowed someone’s phone and called her boyfriend.
- A few minutes later, a bystander contacted police after finding Aguilera’s body.
- At around 12:55 a.m. Saturday, her mother contacted police to report her missing. An hour later, she called police again and said she pinged her phone to the Austin Rugby Club.
- Police found the phone at around 3:30 p.m., in a nearby field.
Rodriguez said she felt something was wrong when her daughter turned her phone to “Do Not Disturb” on Friday afternoon, which was unusual behavior.
After a 24-hour wait period, police took the missing persons report and by 5 p.m. Saturday, informed the mother of her death after connecting the pieces to the phone found in a field.
While addressing rumors concerning a possible physical fight, Marshall said the only indication of a fight had been when Aguilera punched someone who tried to help her leave the tailgate event.
Phone evidence, according to Marshall, indicated that Aguilera sent a text message to a friend indicating she was having suicidal thoughts.
They also found a “digital suicide note” dated November 25, written to specific loved ones but later deleted. In October, she also reportedly made reference to suicide, to friends.
“Between all of the witness statements, all of the video evidence and all of the digital evidence collected, at no time did any evidence point to this being anything of a criminal nature,” Marshall said.
Meanwhile, Aguilera’s family retained an attorney, who will hold a news conference on Friday.
Check back for updates.
[Feature Photo via GoFundMe]
