Texas A&M cheerleader Brianna Aguilera wrote and deleted a suicide note on her phone days before her death, police said, as they ruled that she took her own life when she plunged 17 stories from an Austin apartment building.
“Brianna had made suicidal comments previously to friends, back in October of this year,” Austin Police Detective Robert Marshall said at a news conference Thursday.
“This continued through the evening of her death, with some self-harming actions early in the evening and a text message to another friend indicating the thought of suicide,” he added.
Texas A&M cheerleader Brianna Aguilera’s death was ruled as suicide. Facebook / Stephanie Rodriguez
Brianna Aguilera with mother Stephanie Rodriguez. Facebok / Stephanie Rodriguez
Police were called to the apartment complex at 12:46 a.m. Saturday where they found Aguilera’s body.
Cameras showed her arriving at the apartment complex just after 11 p.m. Friday and going to a 17th-floor apartment for a party following a Texas A&M vs UT tailgate, Marshall told the news conference.
At the tailgate, Aguilera “became intoxicated to a point where she was asked to leave,” Marshall said.
The video showed “a large group of friends left that same apartment at 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 29, leaving just Brianna and three other girls in the apartment,” he said.
Aguilera plunged 17 stories from an apartment building. Stephanie Rodriguez
She told friends she had lost her phone, and borrowed someone else’s cell to call her boyfriend from 12:43 to 12:44 a.m., Marshall said.
Witnesses heard her argue with her boyfriend during the call just two minutes before the 911 call was made, Marshall said.
Aguilera’s mom, Stephanie Rodriguez, has dismissed cops’ version of events, insisting that her daughter wasn’t suicidal.
“Some self-harming actions early in the evening and a text message to another friend indicating the thought of suicide,” Austin Police Detective Robert Marshall said. GoFundMe
“Please don’t believe this lazy investigator and investigation!” she wrote in a Facebook post sharing a video of Thursday’s press conference.
She previously said that her daughter’s phone was on Do Not Disturb on the night of her death, and that her teen knew to leave her cell alerts on when she went out.
The phone was later discovered by a creek, where it had been left since 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Police have said they won’t investigate the death as a homicide.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis. News 4 San Antonio
“I understand how grief and the need for answers can raise intense emotions and many questions. But sometimes the truth doesn’t provide the answers we are hoping for, and that is this case,” Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said at the same news conference, adding 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.
Rodriguez has hired major Texas attorney Tony Buzbee to investigate her daughter’s death.
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Buzbee, who represented more than 150 alleged victims of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, confirmed he had been hired by Aguilera’s parents in a Facebook post.
“They feel certain this was not an accident. This was certainly not a suicide. The family deserves straight answers. We hope we can help them get those answers,” he wrote.
Buzbee said his office will hold a press conference in Houston on Friday to discuss the case in depth.If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.