The family of a Texas A&M sophomore says they are still waiting for answers after she was found dead near campus following a football game.
Local station KBTX reported that the Austin Police Department confirmed Brianna Aguilera died shortly before 1 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 29, just hours after attending a tailgate for the Texas A&M vs. University of Texas game.
Her family told the outlet they only know she was at the tailgate and that the events afterward remain unclear. In a GoFundMe created on Nov. 30, they explained that the circumstances of what happened next are still unknown. According to KBTX, police said she died at a student apartment complex near the University of Texas campus.
The Travis County medical examiner is investigating the cause of death, but foul play is not suspected at this time, per KBTX.
According to KSAT, Brianna Aguilera, a Texas A&M student from Laredo, was found dead early Saturday morning outside an apartment complex on the west side of the University of Texas campus.
Her mother, Stephanie Rodriguez, told the outlet she has received conflicting information from Austin police. Investigators informed her they believe Aguilera died by suicide, but Rodriguez said her daughter was not suicidal and was focused on her future, including plans to become a lawyer.
Rodriguez explained that she contacted police when Aguilera stopped answering her phone after Friday’s game. She located her daughter’s phone pinging in Austin but said officers told her she needed to wait 24 hours before filing a missing persons report. Police later recovered Aguilera’s phone on Saturday, yet Rodriguez said she was not notified until 4 p.m. that her daughter had been taken to the morgue.
A good Samaritan reportedly found Aguilera’s body around 1 a.m. Saturday. According to Rodriguez, a detective told her that Brianna had fallen from the 17th floor. Rodriguez believes that someone among the roughly 15 people who were inside the apartment at the time of her daughter’s death may have information about what happened.
“There was a fight that happened between my daughter and another girl, and they were all staying in the same apartment that I have actual text messages of, and the detective just disregarded them,” her mother told KSAT.
According to the GoFundMe, Brianna Aguilera graduated from United High School in Laredo, Texas, where she was an experienced cheerleader and earned Magna Cum Laude honors. She was attending The Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M, working toward her dream of becoming a lawyer and proudly embracing her goal of being an Aggie. She was just one year away from earning her Aggie ring.
The family wrote that their hearts are broken and that they are seeking support to help ease the financial burden on Brianna’s mother and loved ones during this devastating time. They encouraged anyone able to donate to do so, and asked others to keep Brianna and her family in their thoughts and prayers. The family has already exceeded their goal of $12K and has raised over $24,000.
