Cause of Death Revealed for Texas A&M Student Found Dead After College Football Game

A cause of death has been determined for Brianna Marie Aguilera, the Texas A&M student who was found dead outside a high-rise apartment in Austin, Texas in the early morning hours of Saturday, Nov. 29.

In a press conference on Thursday, Dec. 4, Austin Police Department detectives said Aguilera, 19, died by suicide.

“In every investigation, we have to rely on the evidence, and all evidence in this case is indicative of suicide,” Sgt. Nathan Sexton said.

In a days-long investigation, Austin Police interviewed witnesses, some multiple times, to ascertain the chronology of events that led to Aguilera’s death.

During the investigation, they found a “deleted digital suicide note” dated four days prior, on Tuesday, Nov. 25, on Aguilera’s phone, “which was written to specific people in her life.”

“Between all of the witness statements, all of the video evidence, all of the digital evidence collected, at no time, did any evidence point to this being anything of a criminal nature,” Det. Robert Marshall, lead homicide detective, said. “Rather, our investigation revealed that, unfortunately, Brianna had made suicidal comments previously to friends back in October of this year. This continued through the evening of her death with some self-harming actions earlier in the evening and a text message to another friend indicating the thought of suicide.”

Police in Austin, Texas discovered Aguilera’s body outside 21 Rio, a 21-story apartment complex early on Saturday, Nov. 29, hours after the rivalry football game between the Aggies and the University of Texas had ended.

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis addressed the department’s unusual decision to make the public statement about Aguilera’s death.

“It is not common for a police department to speak publicly about a death by suicide, but inaccurate information has circulated and been reported and that has led to additional harm of innocent people, bullying, included, and their families,” Davis said. “There have also been statements suggesting the police have failed to do our jobs. Those statements are not accurate.”

In an interview with PEOPLE, Aguilera’s mother, Stephanie Rodriguez, pushed back on the notion that her daughter was suicidal, and called into question to the police department’s work.

“And that’s when it made me very upset because I was like, my daughter wasn’t suicidal,” Rodriguez previously told PEOPLE, describing how a detective told her of their preliminary findings. “I would know. She’s not suicidal. Why would she be? She was living her best life. She loved life. I mean, she loved going to school. She wanted to become a lawyer.”

Rodriguez speculated to PEOPLE that Aguilera was pushed over the balcony, but police said on Thursday that there was no evidence that was the case.

Video surveillance obtained by the police department showed a “large gathering” at the apartment on the 17th floor, but that most of the people had exited the unit, leaving behind Brianna and three other girls.

Brianna was on the phone with her boyfriend two minutes before she fell from the balcony, police said.

“Witnesses heard Brianna arguing on the phone with her boyfriend, which was also confirmed later by the boyfriend. Phones from both the phone Brianna used and the boyfriend’s phone have confirmed through call logs that that call did occur,” Marshall said. “Now, this call occurred at approximately 12:43 to 12:44 a.m., [for] approximately one minute. This is two minutes before the 911 call of the body found down below on the pavement.”

Hours earlier, Aguilera attended a tailgate at the Austin Rugby Club where she lost her phone, police said.

“The investigation showed that Brianna had been in a tailgate party earlier in the day and became intoxicated to a point that she was asked to leave the same tailgate,” Marshall said. “Witnesses stated that after Brianna was asked to leave the tailgate, she’d repeatedly dropped her phone and staggered into a nearby wooded area.”

Rodriguez previously told PEOPLE that she had been unable to reach her daughter by phone on Friday evening.

In the wake of Aguilera’s death, a GoFundMe established by her family has raised nearly $40,000.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.