The death of Texas A&M student Brianna Aguilera, initially shrouded in mystery, has been officially ruled a suicide, according to Austin Police, who cited a digital suicide note and prior statements about self-harm.
The investigation began at 12:46 a.m. on Saturday, when officers responded to an Austin apartment complex and found Aguilera on the ground with injuries consistent with a fall from a high floor, Austin Police Detective Robert Marshall said.
Surveillance footage showed Aguilera arriving at the building shortly after 11 p.m. on Friday and heading to an apartment on the 17th floor, Marshall explained at a Thursday news conference. The video also captured “a large group of friends” leaving that apartment at 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 29, leaving Aguilera and three other young women inside, he said.
Earlier that day, Aguilera had attended a tailgate for the Texas A&M vs. University of Texas football game, where she became so intoxicated that she was asked to leave, according to Marshall.
At some point, Aguilera told friends she had lost her phone. Once they arrived at the apartment that night, she borrowed someone else’s phone to call her boyfriend, Marshall said.
Witnesses reported hearing her argue with her boyfriend during that call. The conversation took place from 12:43 a.m. to 12:44 a.m. — just two minutes before a 911 call was placed, Marshall noted.
When investigators later located Aguilera’s missing phone, they discovered a deleted digital suicide note dated Tuesday, Nov. 25, written to specific people in her life, Marshall said.
He added that Aguilera had previously made suicidal comments to friends as far back as October. “This continued through the evening of her death,” he said, noting that she engaged in some self-harming behavior earlier that night and sent a text message to another friend indicating she was thinking about suicide.
Marshall emphasized that investigators never found evidence suggesting foul play. “Every friend and witness during this investigation has been nothing but forthcoming and open,” he said.
Aguilera’s family, however, has publicly rejected the idea that she was suicidal. They told local media that the 21-year-old college student had plans to pursue a career in law and was looking ahead to her future.
Following the police briefing, the family’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, said the family still believes many questions remain unanswered.
“The circumstances surrounding her death are very suspicious,” Buzbee said in a statement. “The Austin Police Department’s handling of this matter creates more questions than it provides 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.”
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis acknowledged the family’s grief and the difficulty of accepting the department’s findings.
“I understand how grief and the need for answers can raise intense emotions and many questions,” Davis said at the news conference. “But sometimes the truth doesn’t provide the answers we are hoping for, and that is this case.”
Davis added 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.
