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Texas police said the investigation into the death of Texas A&M student Brianna Aguilera remains open as they defended their handling of the case, which her family’s lawyer demanded be turned over to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Aguilera, 19, died when she fell from an Austin high-rise apartment following a Texas A&M vs. University of Texas football tailgate at around 1 a.m. on Nov. 29, according to police.
Last week, the Austin Police Department held a news conference to announce that their investigation determined Aguilera died by suicide, despite her family’s claims that she was killed.
“It is not common for a police department to speak publicly about a death by suicide,” Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said during a news conference Thursday. “But inaccurate information has circulated and been reported. And that has led to additional harm of innocent people, bullying included, and their families.”
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Speaking to reporters on Thursday, police previously revealed they had uncovered a deleted suicide note from earlier in the week on Aguilera’s phone, along with suicidal texts sent the evening of her death to friends. The investigation also found that Aguilera had made comments to friends indicating she may be suicidal, police said.
However, at a news conference on Friday, Aguilera’s family attorney, Tony Buzbee, condemned the investigation’s findings, while pointing to the autopsy and toxicology reports not being completed, according to The Daily Mail.
Buzbee also looked to cast doubt on the validity of the suicide note found on Aguilera’s phone by investigators.
“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, according to The Mail. “She took creative writing the semester before. The suggestion is that she left ‘a suicide note’ – total malarkey.”
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Buzbee reportedly pointed to a TikTok video posted by a resident of the same apartment complex claiming to have heard two women arguing minutes before Aguilera’s fatal 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 previously revealed that Aguilera was fighting on the phone with her boyfriend just two minutes before the first 911 call reporting an unconscious person was placed.
In light of the attorney’s allegations, APD is reportedly continuing to stand by their investigation’s findings.
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“The Austin Police stands by the information that we provided [Thursday] during our news conference regarding the tragic death of Brianna Aguilera,” the department said in a statement to The Daily Mail.
The department also seemingly contradicted Buzbee’s claims that the investigation into Aguilera’s death had been closed, with officials asserting authorities are still looking into the case.
“We would like to reiterate a couple key points,” APD said in a statement, according to The Daily Mail. “The Travis County Medical Examiner determines the cause and manner of death, and APD has never made a determination in this case. Our role is to conduct an investigation and follow the evidence. This investigation remains open, and at no point has APD stated otherwise.”
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In addition to alleging missteps in APD’s investigation, Buzbee reportedly called for Det. Robert Marshall to be removed as the lead authority in the case and revealed he would be asking Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to bring in the Texas Department of Public Safety to continue the investigation.
However, Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock told The Daily Mail that there is no legal precedent for a case to be reassigned due to the family not being happy with the investigation.
“It’s nothing I have ever seen happen,” Bullock reportedly said. “It’s our jurisdiction and it’s our case.”
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“Could the governor order it? Probably not, but the department could invite Texas DPS in. Other than that, it’s all APD.”
APD, Buzbee, Texas DPS and Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Adam Sabes contributed to this report.
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