The family of Texas A&M sophomore Brianna Aguilera is now urging Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Rangers to take over the probe into the 19-year-old’s death, escalating their battle with Austin police.
The push came at a Houston press conference Friday, where attorneys Tony Buzbee and Javier Gamez tore into the Austin Police Department’s handling of the case.
Buzbee also accused APD of sharing details they were not authorized to publicly release.
The department said earlier this week that they found a deleted suicide note on the teen’s phone, while her family argues the missive was written as an assignment for a creative writing class.
Aguilera was found dead early Saturday outside a West Campus high-rise after a fall from a 17th-floor balcony, according to Austin police. Investigators said she had used a friend’s phone to place a call to her boyfriend minutes earlier, and witnesses heard them argue.
Austin police have previously said she borrowed that phone shortly before the fall, a detail her grieving mother has publicly disputed.
Aguilera’s phone was found in do not disturb mode by a creek near the apartment building. Her mom said her daughter always shared her location while out with friends, and would never go dark.
APD said this week their review pointed to suicide, though the autopsy is still pending. The family says that early conclusion never matched the facts they’ve uncovered about her final hours.
The demand highlights the family’s growing distrust of Austin police, who they say rushed to label the death a suicide while overlooking basic investigative steps. The attorneys argue the case now needs fresh eyes from state authorities.
Buzbee and Gamez told reporters they’re assembling a 30- to 40-page evidence packet for the governor, complete with witness statements and other data they claim APD never reviewed.
Buzbee argued that one detective “made a decision immediately” about what happened and then built the case around it.
He also questioned why the department publicly suggested suicide when, he said, they did not yet have authority to make that determination.
Aguilera’s mother, Stephanie Rodriguez, said she called the department over and over after her daughter’s death and felt shut out at every turn.
She said officers spoke to her arrogantly and even told her daughter’s friends not to talk to her, as if she were “some sort of criminal.”
Rodriguez said she last spoke to Aguilera the morning she died and insisted her daughter was not suicidal.
Aguilera grew up as an all-star cheerleader and honor student, according to her family.
Buzbee described her as a sophomore with “big plans and big dreams” who “had the world at her feet.”
She was studying political science and criminal justice at Texas A&M and “dreamt of attending law school in New York” to become a criminal defense lawyer.
Buzbee said one witness reported hearing “get off of me” and screaming outside the West Campus building, while another recalled running and noise inside the apartment.
He claims APD never interviewed either person.
The evidence packet will include those accounts and other data the family says clash with the department’s early public statements.
Austin police maintain the case remains open and stress that only the medical examiner — whose autopsy is still pending — can rule on Aguilera’s manner of death.
Rodriguez said she will keep pressing until another agency reviews the file.
“I cannot deal with you jumping to conclusions and not performing an actual investigation,” she said. “Do your job.”
https://nypost.com/2025/12/06/us-news/family-urges-abbott-texas-rangers-to-take-over-aguilera-case/
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