The Austin Police Department says its investigation into the death of 19-year-old Texas A&M student Brianna Aguilera remains open and defended the department’s handling of the case after the victim’s family and their attorney demanded the inquiry be turned over to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).
Police say Aguilera fell from an Austin high‑rise apartment at about 1 a.m. on Nov. 29 after a tailgate for the Texas A&M vs. University of Texas football game. The fall proved fatal.
At a news conference last week, Austin police said their investigation had found indicators consistent with suicide, including deleted material on Aguilera’s phone that investigators described as a suicide note and text messages she sent the evening of her death that suggested suicidal intent. Officers also said friends reported she had expressed suicidal thoughts in the days leading up to the incident.
Family attorney Tony Buzbee strongly disputed that conclusion at a subsequent press event, noting that the Travis County Medical Examiner’s autopsy and toxicology results were not yet complete. Buzbee questioned APD’s characterization of the material on Aguilera’s phone and said a detective’s description of an "essay" as a suicide note was inaccurate.
"Then [Det. Robert Marshall] gets into her phone and he sees an essay that she wrote and he calls it a suicide note," Buzbee said. "She took creative writing the semester before. The suggestion is that she left ‘a suicide note’ – total malarkey."
Buzbee also cited a TikTok video posted by a resident of the same apartment complex in which the user said they heard two women arguing minutes before Aguilera’s fall. "A young man posted on TikTok that he could hear up above, at around the 17th floor in that general area, fighting [and] screaming — somebody saying, ‘Get off of me,’ and then a muffled sound," Buzbee said.
APD has previously said Aguilera was on the phone with her boyfriend about two minutes before the first 911 call reporting an unconscious person at the scene.
In response to the family’s demands, APD reiterated that its investigation remains open and that it has not issued a final cause or manner of death — a determination made by the Travis County Medical Examiner. "The Austin Police stands by the information that we provided during our news conference regarding the tragic death of Brianna Aguilera," the department said in a statement to media outlets.
Beyond criticizing the investigative conclusions, Buzbee called for Det. Robert Marshall to be removed as lead investigator and said he would ask Gov. Greg Abbott to involve Texas DPS. Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock told the press there is no legal precedent for reassigning a case simply because a family disagrees with the results, although APD could invite DPS to assist.
APD, Buzbee, Texas DPS and the governor’s office did not immediately provide additional comment to reporters. The investigation remains active while officials await the medical examiner’s final report and toxicology results.
