The parents of former Texas A&M student Brianna Aguilera have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against two Austin, Texas organizations after their daughter’s death at age 19 on November 29.
Stephanie Rodriguez and Manuel Aguilera are seeking $1 million in damages from the Austin Blacks Rugby Club and the University of Texas Latin Economics and Business Association, claiming they do not believe Brianna’s death was a suicide, despite investigators’ ruling on December 4.
“Now more than we were 30 days ago, we believe even more today that this was not a suicide as has been suggested by the police,” Tony Buzbee, an attorney for the family, said in a press conference on Tuesday, January 6. “This was either an accident or something much more sinister.”
Brianna died after attending a tailgate party following the Aggies’ football game against the University of Texas earlier that evening. The party was hosted by the UT Latin Economics and Business Association and took place at the Austin Blacks Rugby Club facility.
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Buzbee, 57, argued that the police’s timeline of the evening does not add up. Police concluded that between 12:43 a.m. to 12:44 a.m., Brianna borrowed a phone to call her boyfriend and the two were arguing. She then went to return the phone to her friend inside the apartment. Two minutes later, a 9-1-1 call came in from a bystander who found Brianna’s body.
“What police have told us is not physically possible,” Buzbee said, arguing the last time Brianna spoke with her boyfriend was at 9:44 p.m. that night.
Buzbee also presented neighbor Dana Rodriguez, who lives across the hall from where the party took place, at the press conference. She revealed that police had not interviewed her or taken a statement.
“The only thing I have received from the Austin Police Department is a generic email sent to all residents of the 21 Rio apartment complex,” she said. “I hope they listen to this statement and understand I am willing to cooperate in this investigation.”
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Dana added that she tried to go to sleep as the party continued next door, but the noise from an apparent argument made it difficult. Her father, who was there at the time, told her he thought the noise was coming from the neighbors’ balcony.
Not long after, Dana said she heard “the kind of screaming someone makes when you accidentally drop something.”
“I do not believe the police were ever in [the] apartment during this investigation,” she said, referring to the apartment where the party was held. “My parents would have notified me. I would have known, that’s how much I can hear the footsteps and everything from my apartment. The walls are just so thin.”
Investigators insisted in December that all available evidence pointed toward a suicide.
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“Between all of the witness statements, all of the video evidence, all of the digital evidence collected, at no time, did any evidence point to this being anything of a criminal nature,” lead homicide detective Robert Marshall said in a press conference. “Rather, our investigation revealed that, unfortunately, Brianna had made suicidal comments previously to friends back in October of this year. This continued through the evening of her death with some self-harming actions earlier in the evening and a text message to another friend indicating the thought of suicide.”
Brianna’s family has long disputed the notion that their daughter is suicidal.
“And that’s when it made me very upset because I was like, my daughter wasn’t suicidal,” Stephanie told People in December. “I would know. She’s not suicidal. Why would she be? She was living her best life. She loved life. I mean, she loved going to school. She wanted to become a lawyer. I mean, it was just something that I was like, you don’t say that.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
