HOUSTON – The sudden death of a Texas A&M student has left her mother desperate for answers.
Just hours after tailgating in Austin for the UT vs. A&M game, Brianna Aguilera, 19, was found dead. Austin police say it does not appear to be a homicide, but her mother, Stephanie Rodriguez, is not convinced.
“My daughter was full of life. She loved life. She was happy. She was energetic,” Rodriguez said. “We were about to order her Aggie ring next semester.”
Rodriguez says Brianna seemed happy and excited after spending Thanksgiving with family in Laredo before heading to Austin.
“I have a video from two nights before when she arrived from College Station,” Rodriguez said. “She was blasting her music, singing Phantom of the Opera and Wicked. She had us sitting here, my fiancé and I, watching her show.”
The day after Thanksgiving, Brianna packed up, headed to Austin, and met up with friends.
“That was the last I heard from her that day — at 4 p.m.,” Rodriguez said. “We were laughing. She sent me a picture of her friends.”
But that laughter soon gave way to heartbreak.
Austin police told Rodriguez Brianna fell from the 17th floor of an apartment complex where she was staying with friends. According to Rodriguez police initially suggested suicide but later said it was an accidental fall.
Rodriguez disputes this explanation.
“First they said it was a suicide, but when we went to talk to Austin PD, I told them, ‘You can’t say those words. There was no cause of death yet. She never showed signs of wanting to commit suicide,’” Rodriguez said.
When asked if she would accept the police’s explanation if evidence supported it, Rodriguez said, “I would be willing to accept it if I knew my daughter was not mentally stable. I would have never let her leave town by herself or stay in a cottage six hours away if I thought she was incapable of being alone or had expressed a desire to end her life.”
Rodriguez is now asking anyone with information about what happened that night to come forward.
KPRC 2 reached out to Austin police for an update on the investigation but has not yet received a response.
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