Texas college student found dead at apartment near UT Austin, mother suspects foul play
A mother says she is "destroyed" after her daughter was found dead near the University of Texas at Austin.
"I was in disbelief. I yelled, I shouted, I told the officer that it wasn't true, that he was lying to me," mother Stephanie Rodriguez said. "It was just devastation to the max. I was destroyed."
Brianna Aguilera, 19, was a Texas A&M University student. She was at a tailgate in Austin early Friday where underage people were being served alcohol, police told Rodriguez.
She says her daughter became intoxicated and was kicked out and ended up back at her friends' apartment near campus.
"Someone also put her phone on 'do not disturb,' which my daughter never does unless she's in class or studying for an exam," Rodriguez said.
Around 12:45 a.m. on Saturday, Austin police responded to a report of an unresponsive individual at an apartment complex.
Austin police said they found an adult female who was "not responding".
Police told Rodriguez there were 14 people in the apartment and that her daughter fell out of the 17th-floor apartment unit.
Some UT Austin students who live nearby saw the commotion in the aftermath.
Police said they are not investigating this as a homicide and there are no indications of "suspicious circumstances."
However, Rodriguez believes there's more to what happened.
"My daughter was not suicidal. She loved life. She wanted to graduate. She wanted to become an attorney," she said. "There was never one ounce of her that was ever sad in that manner."
If you are experiencing suicidal, substance use or other mental health crises please call or text the new three-digit code at 988. You will reach a trained crisis counselor for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also go to 988lifeline.org or dial the current toll free number 800-273-8255 [TALK].
The University of Texas at Austin confirmed that APD is the lead investigating agency for incidents that occur in West Campus but said it had no details about the case.
