The parents of a Texas A&M University student who fell 17 stories to her death from a high-rise apartment building in Austin in November have sued the rugby club that allegedly served her alcohol and the student organization that hosted the tailgate party she attended.
Brianna Aguilera, 19, attended a tailgate party Nov. 28 for the Lone Star Showdown football game between Texas and Texas A&M hosted by the UT Latin Economics and Business Association at the Austin Blacks Rugby Club facility.
According to the Austin Police Department, she became so inebriated that she was asked to leave. She reportedly struggled with a friend who was helping escort her out. Aguilera stumbled around in nearby woods, losing her cellphone and other items before returning to the 21 Rio apartment complex with a group of friends.
Police said video footage from the apartment complex shows her entering the apartment with her friends. Later, all but Aguilera and three other girls left. In a press conference in December, an investigator said she used a friend’s phone to call her boyfriend, who was out of state. They argued for a minute, and a short time later, a 911 call came in when someone found her body on the street below.
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The police said their investigation, which is ongoing, points to a suicide. That has been disputed by Houston-based attorney Tony Buzbee, who was hired by Aguilera’s mother, Stephanie Rodriguez. Buzbee held a press conference Tuesday at which he announced the $1 million lawsuit against the UT Latin Economics and Business Association at the Austin Blacks Rugby Club.
“Brianna was obviously overserved,” he said.
Buzbee said Aguilera should never have been served alcohol.
“There are laws that prohibit you from serving alcohol to minors and there are laws that prohibit you from overserving people when you’re serving them alcohol,” he said.
He said he is using the lawsuit as a tool to compel witnesses to speak and alleged that Austin police told witnesses not to talk to him or her mother about the case.
“Will be able to subpoena individuals and documents and video and data so we can continue our investigation. We will be able to compel witnesses so we can question them whether they want to or not,” he said.
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Buzbee introduced Dannah Rodriguez, who lives in the apartment across from where Aguilera died. Rodriguez said the police have not interviewed her, even though she could hear a lot of the commotion going on in the apartment across the hall. She said there was loud music and people yelling at each other. She said a little after 12:30 a.m. the music was turned off and the arguing and loud screaming stopped.
Buzbee also said he spoke with the boyfriend who said he last talked with Aguilera at 9:44 p.m., not 12:43 a.m. as the police reported.
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“We don’t believe this was a suicide, we don’t believe any of the facts support that at all,” Buzbee said. “We believe, based on our investigation, that Brianna was not alone in that apartment when she went over that railing. We don’t know why she went over the railing. We’re not suggesting anyone pushed her over the railing or anything … we’re simply saying that the witnesses we’ve spoken to make it very clear that there was an argument taking place among several individuals in that apartment immediately before this young woman fell to her death.”
By JOE SOUTHERN, The Eagle, Bryan, Texas