Texas A&M cheerleader Brianna Aguilera wrote, and later deleted, a suicide note on her phone just days before she died, according to police. Investigators have concluded that she took her own life after plunging 17 stories from an apartment building in Austin. "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. This brings an end to the long debate about how the girl died.
Indication of Suicide
Police were called to the apartment complex at 12:46 a.m. on Saturday, where they found Aguilera's body. Surveillance footage showed her arriving at the building just after 11 p.m. on Friday and heading to a 17th-floor apartment for a party after attending a Texas A&M vs. UT tailgate, according to Marshall.
At the tailgate, Aguilera had gotten drunk and was asked to leave, he said.
The video also showed a large group of friends leaving the apartment around 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 29, leaving Aguilera and three other women behind.
Aguilera told friends she had lost her phone and borrowed someone else's to call her boyfriend from 12:43 to 12:44 a.m. Witnesses said they heard her arguing with him during the call, just two minutes before the 911 call was placed, Marshall said.
Aguilera's mother, Stephanie Rodriguez, has refuted the police account, claiming that her daughter was not suicidal.
"Please don't believe this lazy investigator and investigation!" she wrote in a Facebook post sharing a video of Thursday's press conference.
Mom's Appeal
Her mother had previously said that Aguilera's phone was on Do Not Disturb the night she died, and that her daughter always knew to keep her alerts on when she went out. The phone was later found near a creek, where it had apparently been left since 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
Authorities have said that they do not plan to treat the death as a homicide.
"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 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 brought on high-profile Texas attorney Tony Buzbee to look into her daughter's death.
Buzbee, who previously represented over 150 alleged victims of Sean "Diddy" Combs, confirmed in a Facebook post that he had been hired by Aguilera's parents.
"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 announced that his office will hold a press conference in Houston on Friday to provide a detailed update on the case.
