The mother of a 19-year-old Texas A&M University student is publicly challenging the account given to her by police after her daughter was found dead in Austin in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Conflicting Accounts Emerge
Brianna Aguilera, a Laredo native and aspiring lawyer, was identified by her mother, Stephanie Rodriguez, as the woman discovered unresponsive outside an apartment building just west of the University of Texas campus. Austin Police responded to the scene at 12:57am on Saturday, 29 November 2025, and pronounced her dead. The department has not officially released a cause of death or formally identified the deceased.
While Austin Police stated the death is not considered suspicious and is not being investigated as a homicide, Rodriguez claims officers told her a different story. She alleges they informed her that Aguilera jumped to her death from the 17th floor of an apartment building. "There are a lot of inconsistencies with the story," Rodriguez told KSAT.com.
A Mother Seeks Answers
Rodriguez vehemently disputes any suggestion her daughter was suicidal. She described Aguilera as a hopeful young woman, proud of her studies at The Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M and focused on her dream of becoming a practising lawyer. Aguilera was a year away from receiving her coveted Aggie ring.
The tragedy occurred after Aguilera, a seasoned cheerleader and Magna Cum Laude graduate from United High School in Laredo, attended the Texas vs. Texas A&M football game tailgate in Austin on Friday. Rodriguez believes key details are being overlooked, telling KSAT that a fight occurred between her daughter and another girl in the apartment where 15 people were present. She claims to have text message evidence that was disregarded by detectives.
"There was a fight that happened between my daughter and another girl... and the detective just disregarded them," Rodriguez said.
Investigation Remains Open
When contacted by the Daily Mail for comment on Rodriguez's claims, an Austin Police spokesperson reiterated a previous statement: 'This remains an open death investigation and is not being investigated as a homicide. The cause of death will be determined by the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office.'
The final determination of cause of death rests with the Travis County Medical Examiner, a process that officials note can take several months. In the meantime, Aguilera's family has started a GoFundMe fundraiser to help with financial burdens, which had raised more than $23,000 by Monday evening. The page celebrates her life and ambitions, noting she was "a year shy of attaining her Aggie ring."
