One day after the Austin Police Department said a Texas A&M student died of an apparent suicide, Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee, who is representing the student’s family, accused the police of incompetence and called for a new investigator to take over the case or for the Texas Rangers to get involved.
During a press conference in Houston on Friday, Buzbee asserted that APD should not have released a suspected cause of death before an official autopsy was complete.
A spokesperson for the Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office said it typically takes between 30 and 90 days for autopsy reports to be released, adding that preliminary reports are not released.
Aguilera’s mother and father, along with lawyers from the Gamez law firm, were present alongside Buzbee as he spoke.
Buzbee also argued detectives came to a predetermined conclusion regarding the cause of death.
“Why would the Austin Police Department hurriedly set up a press conference and leak details of the investigation and suggest to you [the media] that there was a suicide note?” Buzbee asked. “It’s that kind of conduct that caused the family to try to find somebody separate from the Austin Police Department to investigate this.”
Buzbee’s comments came one day after APD’s lead detective, Robert Marshall, spoke at a press conference in Austin and said current evidence indicated Aguilera died by suicide. Buzbee had already announced his Friday press conference before APD held its own Thursday.
According to Marshall, a deleted suicide note from Nov. 25 was discovered on Aguilera’s phone, which was found in a wooded area near a tailgate party the student had reportedly attended. Buzbee asserts that it wasn’t a suicide note. Marshall also said investigators had confirmed that an argument occurred between Aguilera and her boyfriend during a phone call shortly before her death. Investigators said she used a friend’s phone to make the call.
“Between all of the witness statements, all of the video evidence and all of the digital evidence collected, at no time did any evidence point to this being anything of a criminal nature,” Marshall said. “Rather, our investigations revealed that, unfortunately, Brianna had made suicidal comments to friends back in October of this year. This continued through the evening of her death and a text message to another friend indicating the thought of suicide.”
Buzbee called on APD to replace Marshall and the lead investigator in the case, and said he would request Gov. Greg Abbott to have the Texas Rangers intervene if that were not done.
“I’m calling on the Austin Police Department to reopen the investigation with a different investigator,” he said. “Failing that, I will be calling on the governor to engage the Texas Rangers. We will submit a formal packet to them with all the evidence we have gathered so far and will gather.”
In a statement to Houston Public Media on Friday afternoon, a Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson said the Texas Rangers had not yet received a request related to the case.
Buzbee said he and Aguilera’s family still had questions regarding the timeline of the student’s death as presented by APD. The Houston attorney referenced an alleged altercation that occurred on the evening of Nov. 28 between Aguilera and another woman at the tailgate. He also referenced witnesses his office had spoken to, who he said heard an altercation in the apartment from which Aguilera is suspected to have fallen.
APD has refuted the reports of an altercation involving Aguilera at the tailgate and has not confirmed if witnesses heard an altercation in the apartment.
“There have been online reports of a fight. The only evidence that we have of any kind of physical altercation was Brianna punching one of her friends as they tried to help her out of the party,” Marshall said Thursday. “We have no evidence of any other altercation.”
APD officers responded to a report of an unresponsive person at 2101 Rio Grande St. Police identified that person as an adult female who was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:57 a.m. APD did not disclose the woman’s identity to the press until Tuesday afternoon and said the incident was not being investigated as a homicide. The investigation remained active as of Thursday, according to APD. The department said it “extends our heartfelt condolences to Brianna Aguilera’s family, friends, and all who are grieving her loss.”
Aguilera’s mother, Stephanie Rodriguez, read a prewritten statement at Buzbee’s press conference on Friday and said, as she has stated since her daughter’s death, that she did not believe Aguilera committed suicide.
“She was so smart and had such a bright future,” Aguilera said. “She dreamt of a life where she could make a difference. My daughter was not suicidal. I know my daughter better than anyone.”
Throughout the Friday press conference, Buzbee accused the news media of not asking APD enough questions regarding its investigation.
Buzbee concluded his press conference without taking any questions, answering only one that was shouted at him.
He said it would only take APD “two minutes” to place a new investigator in charge of Aguilera’s case.
APD did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Buzbee’s allegations.
Gov. Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to a request regarding whether the Texas Rangers would be joining the investigation.
Editor’s note: If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org. Helplines outside the U.S. can be found at www.iasp.info/suicidalthoughts.
Great Job & the Team @ Houston Public Media for sharing this story.
