Cause of Death Revealed for Texas A&M Student Found Dead After College Football Game

A medical examiner has determined the cause of death for 19-year-old Texas A&M student Brianna Marie Aguilera, who was found dead outside a high-rise apartment building in Austin, Texas, in the early hours of Saturday, Nov. 29.

At a press conference on Thursday, Dec. 4, detectives with the Austin Police Department said Aguilera died by suicide.

“In every investigation, we have to rely on the evidence, and all evidence in this case is indicative of suicide,” Sgt. Nathan Sexton said.

Investigators spent several days interviewing witnesses — some more than once — to reconstruct the events leading up to Aguilera’s death. During that process, they discovered what they described as a “deleted digital suicide note” on her phone, dated Tuesday, Nov. 25, and written to specific people in her life.

“Between all of the witness statements, all of the video evidence, all of the digital evidence collected, at no time did any evidence point to this being anything of a criminal nature,” lead homicide detective Det. Robert Marshall said. “Rather, our investigation revealed that, unfortunately, Brianna had made suicidal comments previously to friends back in October of this year. 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.”

Police found Aguilera’s body outside 21 Rio, a 21-story apartment building, early on Nov. 29 — just hours after the rivalry football game between Texas A&M and the University of Texas had ended.

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis acknowledged that it is unusual for the department to speak publicly about a death ruled as suicide, but said they chose to do so because of speculation and misinformation.

“It is not common for a police department to speak publicly about a death by suicide, but inaccurate information has circulated and been reported and that has led to additional harm of innocent people, bullying included, and their families,” Davis said. “There have also been statements suggesting the police have failed to do our jobs. Those statements are not accurate.”

Aguilera’s mother, Stephanie Rodriguez, has strongly questioned the conclusion that her daughter took her own life and has raised concerns about the investigation.

“That’s when it made me very upset because I was like, my daughter wasn’t suicidal,” Rodriguez previously said, recalling being told of the preliminary findings. “I would know. She’s not suicidal. Why would she be? She was living her best life. She loved life. I mean, she loved going to school. She wanted to become a lawyer.”

Rodriguez has suggested that her daughter may have been pushed over the balcony, but police said Thursday that they found no evidence to support that theory.

According to investigators, surveillance footage showed a “large gathering” at an apartment on the 17th floor of the building. Over time, most attendees left, leaving Aguilera and three other young women inside.

Police said Brianna was on the phone with her boyfriend two minutes before she fell.

“Witnesses heard Brianna arguing on the phone with her boyfriend, which was also confirmed later by the boyfriend,” Marshall explained. “Phones from both the phone Brianna used and the boyfriend’s phone have confirmed through call logs that that call did occur. Now, this call occurred at approximately 12:43 to 12:44 a.m., for approximately one minute. This is two minutes before the 911 call of the body found down below on the pavement.”

Earlier that day, Aguilera had attended a tailgate event at the Austin Rugby Club, where police say she lost her phone.

“The investigation showed that Brianna had been in a tailgate party earlier in the day and became intoxicated to a point that she was asked to leave the same tailgate,” Marshall said. “Witnesses stated that after Brianna was asked to leave the tailgate, she’d repeatedly dropped her phone and staggered into a nearby wooded area.”

Rodriguez has said she was unable to reach her daughter by phone on Friday evening.

In the aftermath of Aguilera’s death, a GoFundMe campaign created by her family has raised nearly $40,000 to support them as they grieve and seek answers.