The mother of a 19-year-old student who was found dead following a football game has shared a concerning claim after her daughter’s body was found.
Brianna Aguilera, a 19-year-old student at Texas A&M University, was tragically found dead outside an apartment complex at around 1AM on Saturday morning, hours after she'd attended a tailgate for the college's game against the University of Texas, KSAT reported.
Authorities had told her mother, Stephanie Rodriguez, that they believed she’d taken her own life after allegedly falling from 17 floors up.
However, Rodriguez has voiced her concerns of foul play and believes her daughter did not die by suicide.
The Austin Police Department told People in a new statement that “the facts obtained do not indicate that this is a homicide.”
It added: “The case involving the death of Brianna Aguilera remains open, active, and under thorough investigation. Multiple detectives continue to interview witnesses, gather evidence, and work carefully through the details of the incident.
“At this stage in the investigation, the facts obtained do not indicate that this is a homicide. This case continues to be treated strictly as a death investigation, and there is no evidence to suggest or support any suspicious or criminal circumstances surrounding Ms. Aguilera’s passing.
“The cause of death will be determined by the Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office."
The Austin Police Department added: "Every loss in our community is taken seriously, and every life is deserving of care, dignity, and a complete investigative process.
“Austin Police extends our heartfelt condolences to Brianna Aguilera’s family, friends, and all who are grieving her loss. We recognize the deep pain that accompanies the unexpected passing of a loved one, and our thoughts remain with those who are navigating this difficult time.
“Our detectives remain committed to investigating the full details surrounding the death of Ms. Aguilera."
Rodriguez has disputed the claims her daughter took her own life, telling People: “I'm thinking either someone shoved her over the balcony, or when my daughter does drink, she has the tendency [to fall asleep], and she's so thin and frail, she cannot handle alcohol.
“And I think that maybe either it might've been that, and they probably got scared and threw her over the balcony, or they shoved her off.”
She added that the claims her daughter was suicidal left her “very upset”, explaining: “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.”
According to Rodriguez, following the game, Aguilera had been at a party on the 17th floor of 21 Rio, a 21-story apartment building, with around 14 other people, one of whom her mother claims she’d been in a fight with over her boyfriend.
Rodriguez had phoned the police after Aguilera failed to answer the phone after the game ended, and says she saw her phone's location pinging in Austin.
Police told the distraught mother to wait 24 hours before filing a missing persons report, per the outlet, and officers later found Aguilera's cellphone on Saturday.
Rodriguez says she was not told her daughter was dead until 4PM that day, and believes foul play could have been involved in the fatal fall, and that one of the people that were inside the apartment at the time must know something about her daughter's death.
Rodriguez said: "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."
She added: "There are a lot of inconsistencies with the story. He [the investigator] told me they said she jumped, and then he told me that the friends said they didn’t know her whereabouts."
She also says her daughter, who was a sophomore at the university, was not suicidal and had been looking forward to her future and qualifying as a lawyer.
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