Austin Police Declare Texas A&M Student Death a Suicide Amid Public Scrutiny

Austin police officials have publicly addressed mounting criticism regarding their investigation into the death of 19-year-old Texas A&M student Brianna Marie Aguilera, confirming Thursday that she died by suicide after falling from a high-rise apartment building.

In an unusual step for a suicide case, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis held a press conference to counter what she described as “inaccurate information” circulating online and in media reports.

“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.”

The body of Aguilera, a native of Laredo, was discovered in the early morning hours of Saturday, November 29, outside the 21-story 21 Rio apartment complex on the West Campus of the University of Texas at Austin. Aguilera was in town to attend the Lone Star Showdown football rivalry game between Texas A&M and the University of Texas.

According to police, Aguilera jumped from the balcony of a 17th-floor apartment where she had been with three other young women. Lead homicide Detective Robert Marshall confirmed that Aguilera was on the phone with her boyfriend minutes before her death.

“Witnesses heard Brianna arguing on the phone with her boyfriend, which was also confirmed later by the boyfriend. Phones from both the phone Brianna used and the boyfriend’s phone have confirmed through call logs that that call did occur,” Marshall said. “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.”

Aguilera’s mother, Stephanie Rodriguez, had previously expressed doubt about the suicide determination in an interview with PEOPLE magazine. Rodriguez suggested alternative theories, including the possibility that her daughter was pushed or that others panicked after an accident.

“I’m thinking either someone shoved her over the balcony, or when my daughter does drink, she has the tendency [to fall asleep], and she’s so thin and frail, she cannot handle alcohol,” Rodriguez told PEOPLE. “And I think that maybe either it might’ve been that, and they probably got scared and threw her over the balcony, or they shoved her off.”

Rodriguez also alleged that her daughter had been involved in an argument with another young woman over a boyfriend prior to her death. However, police investigators have disputed this account, stating that the only physical altercation they found evidence of was earlier in the evening at a tailgate party at the Austin Rugby Club.

“Witnesses stated that after Brianna was asked to leave the tailgate, she’d repeatedly dropped her phone and staggered into a nearby wooded area,” Marshall explained. “The only evidence that we have of any kind of physical altercation was Brianna punching one of her friends that they tried to help her out at the party.”

Detective Marshall expressed frustration with the public speculation that has surrounded the case and affected the investigation timeline.

“I hated the chatter probably as much as her family and everybody, and the living witnesses hate it,” Marshall said. “The problem is, I can’t make a public statement until I interview everyone, and several of these people we had interviewed two times. Video takes hours and hours not only to get, but then to go through and process, and looking at her phone takes hours to go through.”

Homicide Sergeant Nathan Sexton emphasized that their conclusions were based on a thorough examination of available evidence. “Every investigation, we have to rely on the evidence and all evidence in this case is indicative of suicide,” Sexton stated.

The case has drawn significant attention on social media, with speculation and rumors prompting the unusual public response from the police department. Chief Davis, noting she is a mother of four, acknowledged the difficulty of accepting such findings.

“I understand how grief and the need for answers can raise intense emotions and many questions,” Davis said. “But sometimes, sometimes, the truth doesn’t provide the answers we are hoping for, and that is this case.”