The chilling screams of a young woman begging someone to 'get off me' pierced the night air just moments before Texas A&M cheerleader Brianna Aguilera plummeted 17 storeys to her death.
While Austin police rushed to close the case as a suicide based on a deleted file on her phone, a high-profile lawyer has revealed terrifying new witness accounts that suggest a much darker turn of events.
Harrowing Screams in the Dead of Night
Attorney Tony Buzbee, retained by the Aguilera family, revealed during a press conference that neighbours heard a woman screaming 'get off me' moments before the fall, allegations that directly contradict the Austin Police Department's preliminary classification of the incident as a suicide.
A witness living down the street from the West Campus apartment complex reported hearing a violent struggle in the early hours of Saturday morning. According to Buzbee, the neighbour heard distinct fighting between 12:30 a.m.and 1:00 a.m.
'[He heard], "Get off of me!" — and screaming, and then a muffled cry,' Buzbee told reporters during a tense press conference on Friday.
A second neighbour living directly across the hall offered a similarly grim account, reporting the sounds of a disturbance echoing from the apartment. Buzbee said this second witness described hearing 'running back and forth and screaming', details that point to a chaotic struggle rather than a solitary act.
Buzzbee alleges that investigators failed to interview these residents before closing the scene. He claims officers bypassed these critical potential witnesses, choosing instead to classify the death as a suicide hastily.
The Misinterpreted Evidence
Police rested much of their case on a note found on Aguilera's phone, which they claimed proved she intended to take her own life. Buzbee dismissed that finding as a major blunder, arguing that investigators mistook a creative writing assignment for a farewell letter.
The file was an essay written on the 25th, four days prior to her death, and had already been deleted from the device by the time police found it. The lawyer argued that the content was consistent with academic coursework rather than a manifesto of intent.
'[The lead investigator] sees an essay on her phone and he calls it a suicide note,' Buzbee argued, dismantling the police's primary evidence. 'She wrote an essay on the 25th that she deleted — and then she goes and kills herself four days later? It's really ridiculous.'
He slammed the police narrative as 'total baloney', accusing them of trying to sell a convenient story rather than uncovering the truth.
Procedural Failures and the Medical Examiner
Buzbee emphasised that concluding the manner of death is the responsibility of the medical examiner, not the police detectives at the scene. In standard homicide investigations, a determination of suicide typically requires a concurrence of forensic pathology, toxicology, and scene analysis.
By publicly labelling the death a suicide before the Travis County Medical Examiner had completed a full autopsy, police may have compromised the collection of evidence. Buzbee, known for representing over 150 alleged victims of Sean 'Diddy' Combs and leading the impeachment defence of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, brings a reputation for aggressive litigation against state institutions.
Attorney Tony Buzbee and the parents of Texas A&M student Brianna Aguilera held a news conference Friday, urging Austin police to reopen her death investigation and hand it to a different detective.
— 🚨 Rusty Surette (@KBTXRusty) December 5, 2025
Buzbee says if APD doesn’t do that, he’ll ask the Texas Rangers to step in.
He… pic.twitter.com/76B064FhlD
A Grieving Mother's Fight for Answers
For Aguilera's mother, Stephanie Rodriguez, the official explanation contradicts everything she knew about her daughter. Rodriguez adamantly rejects the idea that Brianna was suicidal, describing her as a vibrant young woman with a bright future who aspired to be a lawyer. She believes her daughter was fatally pushed or thrown from the balcony following a long day of heavy drinking.
Rodriguez's frustration with the authorities was palpable as she demanded accountability. 'I can't deal with [cops] jumping to conclusions and not performing an actual investigation,' she fumed. 'Do your job.'
Buzbee supported her outrage, labelling the officers who handled the investigation as 'lazy and incompetent'. As the family pushes for a thorough re-examination of the evidence, the haunting accounts of Brianna's final screams raise urgent questions about what really happened on that fatal balcony.
