Medical Examiner Rules Texas A&M Student’s Death a Suicide: Reports

The Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled Brianna Aguilera’s death a suicide, according to multiple reports.

Aguilera, a 19-year-old Texas A&M University student, died of “blunt force trauma” after falling from the 17th-floor balcony of the 21 Rio apartment complex in the West Campus area near the University of Texas at Austin in the early morning hours of Nov. 29, 2025, the medical examiner concluded.

A full autopsy report is expected to be released Friday, Feb. 13, according to local outlets.

The ruling aligns with statements previously made by the Austin Police Department. At a Dec. 4 press conference, police said the evidence they had reviewed indicated 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 at the time.

Aguilera’s mother, Stephanie Rodriguez, has publicly disputed that conclusion and has asked for the investigation to be reopened, saying she does not believe her daughter was suicidal.

Rodriguez has retained Houston attorney Tony Buzbee and filed a $1 million civil lawsuit connected to the case. On Feb. 13, she said she does not accept the medical examiner’s findings and plans to continue the civil litigation.

“My thoughts haven’t changed,” Rodriguez said, adding that she believes the lawsuit is necessary to compel others who were with Aguilera that night to speak publicly.

Aguilera, a Laredo, Texas native, had traveled to Austin that weekend to attend the Lone Star Showdown rivalry game between Texas A&M and the University of Texas.

Police have said Aguilera was inside a 17th-floor apartment unit with three other young women when she jumped from the balcony.

Investigators also said she borrowed a friend’s phone and spoke with her boyfriend minutes before her death. According to police, witnesses reported hearing an argument during the call, and call logs confirmed a roughly one-minute conversation around 12:43 to 12:44 a.m., about two minutes before a 911 call reporting her body was found below.

Rodriguez has said she was unable to reach her daughter in the hours before her death and has suggested a dispute may have occurred among the women in the apartment. She has alleged her daughter argued with another woman about a boyfriend.

Austin Police said they interviewed witnesses over several days, including multiple interviews with some individuals, to establish a timeline of events.

During the investigation, police said they found a deleted digital note on Aguilera’s phone dated Nov. 25 — four days before her death — which they described as a suicide note written to specific people in her life.

Rodriguez said she is continuing to seek answers, pointing to claims raised by a neighbor who reported hearing shouting. She also said she hired a private medical examiner to conduct an independent autopsy, and that the report has been provided to her attorney to compare against the official findings.